The Optimization of Nanocrystalline TiO_2 Porous Films Applied to Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

摘要

TiO_2 colloids is based on hydrolysis and high pressure treatment of titanium isopropoxide precursor in an acidic, neutral and basic water solutions by sol-gel methods, and nanoporous films applied to dye-sensitized solar cells, consist of nanosize TiO_2 particles that are sintered on a transparent conducting substrate. In this paper, we will show how the processing parameters such as hydrolysis pH, autoclaving temperature and autoclaving time influence the TiO_2 crystallite size and structural transformation. Different size particles will result in different BET surface area, which determines the number of dye molecules that are adsorbed on the TiO_2 electrode. More especially, we will pay our attention to how the TiO_2 electrode microstructure characteristic influences the photovoltaic response of the cells and give out the optimized results.