A facile synthesis of anatase N,B codoped TiO2 anodes for improved-performance dye-sensitized solar cells

A facile process to fabricate highly crystalline mesoporous N,B codoped TiO2 is introduced. The N,B codoped TiO2 nanomaterial, which has controlled crystallographic phase, size and unique nano-shape, is successfully applied to an enhanced device for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) with an open-circuit photovoltage of 0.823 V and yielding a high overall energy conversion of 8.4%. A DSC based on the N,B codoped TiO2 electrode shows a competitive photovoltaic performance compared with the undoped DSC, which is attributed to the ideal combination of superior energy band structure and retarded electron recombination from the unique N, B codoped TiO2 particle structure.