TiO2 paste formulation for crack-free mesoporous nanocrystalline film of dye-sensitized solar cells.

Using a doctor-blade method, a highly viscous titanium dioxide (TiO2) paste was deposited on a glass substrate coated with fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO). The paste was mainly composed of commercially available TiO2 nanoparticles (P25) and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) as organic filler. Varying the content of HPC in the TiO2 paste changed the physical properties of the mesoporous TiO2 layer, particularly its porosity and surface area. From the quantification of dyes on Ti2, layer and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) study of the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), the surface area of the TiO2 film was found to have decreased. This came with the increase of HPC content while the porosity of the film increased, consistent with the concurrent decrease of short-circuit current density (Jsc) and efficiency (eta). The increased porosity greatly affected the electron transport through the TiO2 film by decreasing the coordination number of the TiO2 particles resulting to a decrease of the electron diffusion coefficient.

Carbon nanotubes on fluorine-doped tin oxide for fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells at low temperature condition.

The multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), electrophoretically deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), were employed as charge-collecting channels in the TiO2 photoelectrode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated at 200 degrees C. The CNT-networks at the conducting substrate increased the charge collection efficiency of the porous TiO2 film, while the short circuit current increased up to ca. 43% under optimized condition. However, the significant decrease in the open-circuit voltage (Voc) up to ca. 132 mV resulted in the failure of the overall cell efficiency improvement. Findings reveal that the transfer process for the back electron is mainly responsible for the significant Voc drop when the MWCNTs were deposited at the electron-collecting substrate of the photoelectrode. The study demonstrates that electrophoretic deposition of MWCNTs on charge collecting substrate would be applicable to introduce an effective charge-collecting channel for the fabrication of flexible DSSCs under low temperature sintering condition.