Photoconductive properties of TiO2 films prepared by the sol-gel method and its application

• Published in: Journal of materials science 1997, Vol.32 (12), p.3183-3188
• Main Authors: HAGA, Y, AN, H, YOSOMIYA, R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carrier transport; Circuits; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Current voltage characteristics; Dark current; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Electronic transport phenomena in thin films and low-dimensional structures; Energy conversion efficiency; Exact sciences and technology; Heat treatment; Hydroxypropyl cellulose; Materials science; Open circuit voltage; Photoconduction and photovoltaic effects; Photoconduction and photovoltaic effects; photodielectric effects; Photovoltaic cells; Physics; Short circuit currents; Sol-gel processes; Titanium dioxide
• ISSN: 0022-2461; 1573-4803
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1018602801793

The Photoconductive characteristics of TiO2 films prepared by the sol-gel method, and the photovoltaic characteristics fabricated with the resulting TiO2 film and phthalocyanine nickel (NiPc) are investigated. For a TiO2 film with hydroxypropyl cellulose (Hpc) heat treated at 500°C for 10 min, the relative sensitivity is about ten times higher than that without Hpc. A space-charge-limited current is observed in the dark current–voltage characteristic of the TiO2 film with Hpc. It is found that the TiO2 film with Hpc has a photosensitizing effect. The photovoltaic characteristics of TiO2(Hpc)/NiPc are as follows: the short-circuit current density, Jsc is 5.6×10-7 A cm-2, the open-circuit voltage, Voc is 0.24 V, the fill factor (F.F) is 0.64 and the power conversion efficiency, η is 0.73. Furthermore, the carrier transport mechanisms of the TiO2(Hpc)/NiPc photovoltaic cell are discussed.