Preparation of ultrathin TiO2 single-crystal nanowires for high performance dye sensitized solar cells

Ultrathin TiO2 anatase nanowires (NWs) were successfully prepared via a rapid and facile hydrothermal route. Consequently, the TiO2 NWs and TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) composites electrodes were prepared with different weight ratios (25, 50 and 100 %) for a dye sensitized solar cell, and the photoelectrical performance has been systematically studied. It is observed that although the amount of absorption dye decreases, the composite solar cells exhibit a higher power conversion efficiency compared to either pure TiO2 NP or NW solar cells by rationally tuning the weight ratios. The behavior was attributed to a combination of the rapid carrier transport in NW framework and the high dye loading on P25 surface.