Enhanced photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells using a highly crystallized mesoporous TiO2 electrode modified by boron doping

Highly crystallized boron-doped anatase TiO2 nanoparticles are prepared by a facile synthetic route and successfully used as the photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). We have observed that the boron doping could improve the crystallinity of TiO2. Moreover, the highly crystallized anatase boron-doped TiO2 were analyzed by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis spectroscopy, and the internal resistances of the boron-doped DSCs were studied by measuring the electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS). The improved photocurrent density of the boron-doped DSCs is due to a significant enhancement of IPCE in the range 370-650nm in comparison with that of the undoped DSC. Meanwhile, the energy-conversion efficiency of the cell based on the B-doped TiO2 electrode is enhanced significantly, by about 9%, compared to that of the undoped DSC. Overall, DSCs based on B-doped electrodes show good stability and remain over 95% of their initial efficiency under visible light soaking for more than 2400 h.