Production and characterization of TiO2 nanoparticle thin films for its application in DSSCs

Abstract

In this research, TiO2 nanoparticle thin films were successfully prepared on FTO glass substrates through a doctor blade technique, and its application was tested in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with different sensitizing dyes such as methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO). The physicochemical properties of intended thin films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-vis DRS) techniques. The experimental results revealed that dipped TiO2 nanoparticle thin films into MB dye solution showed a higher photovoltaic efficiency (1.45%) when compared with the MO dye solution. A reasonable mechanism of DSSCs was also proposed.