A doped heterojunction photoanode: a strategy-driven approach to improve the charge carrier dynamics and photoconversion performance of the TiO2-based dye-sensitized solar cell

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics 2024-03, Vol.35 (8), p.602, Article 602
• Main Authors: Nikhil, S. K., Nair, Gopika Rajeev, Kumar, Mathan, Bhagavathiachari, Muthuraaman, Nair, Ranjith G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anatase; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Charge transport; Chemistry and Materials Science; Crystallites; Current carriers; Doping; Dye-sensitized solar cells; Efficiency; Electrolytes; Glass substrates; Heterojunctions; Materials Science; Nitrates; Optical and Electronic Materials; Photoanodes; Photon absorption; Photons; Quantum efficiency; Semiconductors; Sol-gel processes; Testing laboratories; Titanium dioxide
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-024-12344-7

The synergy of doping and heterojunction in developing a doped heterojunction photoanode and its influence on DSSC performance are explored in the present work. Herein, Fe-doped biphasic TiO 2 heterojunctions are synthesized via a sol-gel process with varied anatase-rutile (A/R) phase ratios. The doped biphasic heterojunctions exhibited a superior photoconversion efficiency (PCE) compared to pristine counterparts, among which the photoanode with a 1.50 A/R ratio (FT-400) showed the highest efficiency. This can be attributed to the effective photon utilization of FT-400 due to the high surface area and low crystallite size coupled with better charge transport and reduced recombination losses. A higher value of J SC and V OC indicated a high electron concentration and a shift in the fermi level in the sample. The synergy of doping and heterojunction in TiO 2 photoanode leads to elevated photon absorption and effective charge transport and it opens up an era of research for photoanode improvement.