UV-Assisted Chemical Sintering of Inkjet-Printed TiO2 Photoelectrodes for Low-Temperature Flexible Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

• Published in: Journal of the Electrochemical Society 2012-01, Vol.159 (10), p.H777-H781
• Main Authors: Oh, Yeonjun, Lee, Sung-Nam, Kim, Han-Ki, Kim, Jihoon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0013-4651
• DOI: 10.1149/2.011210jes

We have investigated the UV-assisted chemical (UV-Chemical) sintering of inkjet-printed TiO2 photoelectrode films for the fabrication of low temperature flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). A titanium organic compound as a chemical sintering source was introduced to an ink where TiO2 nanoparticles were dispersed. The formulated ink was printed by inkjet to prepare TiO2 photoelectrodes for DSSCs. The UV irradiation on the inkjet-printed photoelectrode led to the photodecomposition of the titanium organic compound at 150°C, resulting in the formation of new TiO2 among the TiO2 nanoparticles in the photoelectrode. The newly formed TiO2 enhanced the connectivity among TiO2 nanoparticles in the photoelectrode. The microstructure of TiO2 photoelectrode was investigated both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in order to verify the effect of the UV-Chemical sintering on TiO2 interparticle connectivity. The photovoltaic performance of DSSCs with the UV-Chemical sintered TiO2 photoelectrodes was characterized by incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) and electrochemical impedance analysis. Based on this learning, flexible DSSC was also fabricated on the plastic substrate. This study suggests that UV-assisted chemical sintering offers a feasible opportunity to fabricate low-temperature flexible DSSC.