A novel low-cost, one-step and facile synthesis of TiO2 for efficient fiber dye-sensitized solar cells

In this communication, a novel TiO2 film was synthesized by directly sintering titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) on a titanium wire. The preparation process is simple, fast, facile, low cost and very suitable for large-scale manufacture. Efficiencies of 5% and 7% were achieved, when this material was used as the semiconductor film or the block layer of fiber dye-sensitized solar cells (FDSSCs), respectively. The compact and sturdy TiO2 enables the FDSSCs to maintain a high efficiency during bending and show good flexibility. The use of Pt-modified stainless steel wire as the counter electrode can dramatically reduce the cost of FDSSCs and also keep high efficiency. Utilizing the TiO2 material as the block layer can reduce the recombination, leading to improved conversion efficiency. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.