Synthesis and characterization of nickel doped TiO2 nanoparticles by green method and its performance as dye-sensitized solar cells photoanodes

Photoanodes of TiO2 and Nickel (Ni) doped TiO2 nanoparticles (Ni-TiO2 NPs) were prepared by Bio-assisted synthesis technique using the extract of grapefruit as solvent/reducing agent. From XRD and Raman analysis the anatase phase of the prepared TiO2 NPs and Ni-TiO2 NPs were confirmed. The morphology of the prepared NPs was analyzed using FESEM analysis, from the analysis nanorods and spherical shaped structures were observed for TiO2 and Ni-TiO2, respectively. The optical properties of the synthesized TiO2 and Ni-TiO2 NPs have been studied by UV-Vis spectroscopy and the absorption in the visible region was observed for the Ni doped TiO2 samples. Using the prepared TiO2 and Ni-TiO2 NPs as photo anodes DSSCs were constructed and its performance was examined. In this study, two different kinds of dyes were used as sensitizers such as natural dye and commercial dye (N719). The natural sensitizers are extracted from the murrayakoenigii fruit (MKF) skin. The nickel doped TiO2 nanoparticle showed an efficiency (eta) of 2.25% for MKF dye and 5.08% for N719 with 0.05 M of nickel doping.

Automated summary

TiO2 and Ni-TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared using grapefruit extract as solvent/reducing agent via Bio-assisted synthesis technique. Ni doped TiO2 showed better efficiency than pure TiO2, indicating potential for applications in dye-sensitized solar cells.