Photocurrent enhanced dye-sensitized solar cells based on TiO2 loaded K6SiW11O39Co(II)(H2O)center dot xH(2)O photoanode materials

Through loading of TiO2 on the surface of K6SiW11O39Co(II)(H2O)center dot xH(2)O (SiW11Co), a novel photoanode material has been created for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The absorbing band as well as photoelectricity response range of TiO2@SiW11Co is extended to the visible range. In addition, the absorption in the UV range is enhanced notably compared with P25 (raw TiO2). More importantly, the recombination of the TiO2 network is avoided. TiO2@SiW11Co is mixed with P25 powder (wt similar to 1 : 1) to assemble dye-sensitized (N719) solar cells, which exhibit a short-circuit photocurrent density as high as 18.05 mA cm(-2), which is 64% higher than blank samples under the standard AM1.5G global solar irradiation. In addition, the mechanisms for SiW11Co in DSSC are proposed.