Experimental studies of TiO2 nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel and solvothermal routes for DSSCs application

This paper presents the synthesis and characterization of TiO2 nanoparticles prepared by the sol-gel (SG) and solvothermal (ST) methods. The crystallinity and phase identification examined by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) evidenced the pure-anatase TiO2 nanocrystals without any impurities. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed the preparation of spherical-shape TiO2 nanoparticles while energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) study endorsed the elemental compositions of Ti and O. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigation evidenced the mesoporous microspheres of TiO2 nanoparticles with their average size 119 nm. By UV-vis spectroscopy study, the optical band gaps were estimated to be 2.9 and 3.2 eV corresponding to the samples SG and ST. Furthermore, both SG and ST samples were employed as the photoanode materials for the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) however, ST based DSSC endorsed the enhanced photovoltaic performance.