Dye-sensitized solar cells based on thick highly ordered TiO2 nanotubes produced by controlled anodic oxidation in non-aqueous electrolytic media

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were prepared using TiO2 nanotubes, grown by controlled Ti anodic oxidation in non-aqueous media. Smooth, vertically oriented TiO2 nanotube arrays, presenting a high degree of self-organization and a length of 20 mu m, have been grown using ethylene glycol electrolyte containing HF. As-grown nanotubes exhibit an amorphous structure, which transforms to the anatase TiO2 crystalline phase upon post-annealing in air at 450 degrees C. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed the porous morphology together with high roughness and fractality of the surface. The annealed tubes were sensitized by the standard N719 ruthenium dye and the adsorption was characterized using resonance micro-Raman spectroscopy and adsorption-desorption measurements. The sensitized tubes were further used as active photoelectrodes after incorporation in sandwich-type DSSCs using both liquid and solidified electrolytes. The efficiencies obtained under air mass (AM) 1.5 conditions, using a back-side illumination geometry, were very promising: 0.85% using a composite polymer redox electrolyte, while the efficiency was further increased up to 1.65% using a liquid electrolyte.