Effect of ionic liquid-templated mesoporous anatase TiO2 on performance of dye-sensitized solar cell

摘要

In this study, the mesoporous anatase TiO2, T-BF4, is synthesized by sol-gel polymerization using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [BMIM][BF4] as the template. The 450 degrees C-calcined T-BF4 is found maintaining a mesoporous structure with a morphology that benefits dye adsorption and electrolyte diffusion. A series of dye-sensitized electrodes are prepared with a combination of the as-prepared T-BF4 and P25, a commercial TiO2. It is found that the short-circuit photocurrent (J(sc)) and open-circuit photovoltage (V-oc) of the T-BF4-containing electrodes are remarkably increased with the content of T-BF4. The improvement is ascribed to an increase in the amount of dye molecules adsorbed and prolongation of the electron lifetimes (tau(eff)). The highest light-to-electricity conversion efficiency (eta) of the dye-sensitized solar cell is obtained from that prepared with the pure T-BF4 electrode and is about 60% higher than that prepared with the pure P25 electrode under the same condition.