An efficient titanium‐based photoanode for dye‐sensitized solar cell under back‐side illumination

Abstract

ABSTRACT Pretreatment of H 2 O 2 is performed on titanium (Ti) foil as an efficient photoanode substrate for dye‐sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The H 2 O 2 ‐treated Ti shows high surface area because of the formation of networked TiO 2 nanosheets, which enhances electrical contact between screen‐printed TiO 2 nanoparticles and Ti foil. Electron transfer on the photoanode is improved, as identified by reduced charge transfer resistance and improved electron transport properties. Compared with DSSC based on non‐treated Ti photoanode, DSSC with this H 2 O 2 ‐treated Ti photoanode exhibits remarkable increases in short‐circuit current density (from 8.55 to 14.38 mA/cm 2 ) and energy conversion efficiency (from 4.68 to 7.10%) under AM1.5 back‐side illumination. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.