Porous TiO2 thin films synthesized by a spray pyrolysis deposition (SPD) technique and their application to dye-sensitized solar cells

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were synthesized on glass substrates from titanium (IV)oxy acetylacetonate 2-butanol solution by a spray pyrolysis deposition (SPD) technique. The films consisted of TiO2 leaflets and showed the oriented growth along the (200) direction. The surface area of the film was successfully increased by adding a small amount of aluminum(III) acetylacetonate (AA) in the source solution. This is because AA sublimates easily during the film formation to leave many pores within the film. A dye-sensitized solar cell was constructed with the TiO, film which was deposited on the fluorine-doped tin(IV) oxide layer by the SPD technique. The conversion efficiency of the cell was effectively enhanced as high as 3.2% at AA content of 0.6 at% in the source solution, attributing to the fact that the amount of a dye anchored on the surface of TiO2 layer was the highest at this AA content. Although the conversion efficiency is relatively low, this finding leads to the possibility of an industrial production of a dye-sensitized solar cell in the near future. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.