Rapid Microwave Synthesis of Porous TiO2 Spheres and Their Applications in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Porous anatase TiO2 spheres with sizes ranging from 150 to 250 nm were synthesized by a rapid microwave treatment of spherical titanium glycolate precursors preformed via an ethylene glycol-mediated sol–gel process. The effects of various experimental conditions on the formation of titanium glycolat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physical chemistry. C 2011-06, Vol.115 (21), p.10419-10425
Main Authors: Wang, Hong-En, Zheng, Ling-Xia, Liu, Chao-Ping, Liu, Yan-Kuan, Luan, Chun-Yan, Cheng, Hua, Li, Yang Yang, Martinu, Ludvik, Zapien, Juan Antonio, Bello, Igor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
C: Nanops and Nanostructures
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Porous anatase TiO2 spheres with sizes ranging from 150 to 250 nm were synthesized by a rapid microwave treatment of spherical titanium glycolate precursors preformed via an ethylene glycol-mediated sol–gel process. The effects of various experimental conditions on the formation of titanium glycolate precursors and final TiO2 spheres were investigated. A dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) assembled with the as-synthesized porous TiO2 spheres as photoanodes exhibits a 5% energy conversion efficiency, which is almost 40% higher than that made of the standard commercial Degussa P25 TiO2 nanopowders.
ISSN:1932-7447
1932-7455
DOI:10.1021/jp2011588