Effect of anodic TiO2 powder as additive on electron transport properties in nanocrystalline TiO2 dye-sensitized solar cells

Highly crystalline anodic TiO2 (AO-TiO2) powder was obtained by grinding of annealed TiO2 nanotube arrays grown using anodization of Ti foil. The influence of AO-TiO2 as additive in nanocrystalline TiO2 film on electron transport properties affecting the performance of these dye-sensitized solar cell was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the open-circuit voltage decay technique under AM 1.5 illumination. As a result of the enhanced charge-collection and light harvesting efficiencies, an increase of above 20% in photocurrent density was observed after the addition of AO-TiO2. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.