A facile nonaqueous route for fabricating titania nanorods and their viability in quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cellsElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Pawley fit of as-synthesized titanium glycerolate, Rietveld fit of the anatase phase and TGA pattern of pure glycerol solvent. See DOI: 10.1039/b921373b

• Main Authors: Das, Jaykrushna, Freitas, Flavio S, Evans, Ivana R, Nogueira, Ana F, Khushalani, Deepa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0959-9428; 1364-5501
• DOI: 10.1039/b921373b

A facile and simple process has been detailed for the synthesis of titanium glycerolate nanofibers using glycerol as both a solvent and a chelating agent. This complex has then been successfully converted to a high surface area anatase phase of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) through solid state transformation without alteration in the overall fiber morphology. The structure, crystallinity and morphology of the products before and after transformation have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), solid-state 13 C NMR and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) measurements. As a demonstration of a potential application, these anatase nanorods (NRs) have been used as a photoanode to fabricate a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) using a gel polymer electrolyte. Devices with efficiencies of 2.8% and 4.4% were recorded under light intensity of 100 mW/cm 2 and 10 mW/cm 2 illumination respectively. A facile and simple synthesis of titanium glycerolate nanofibers (using glycerol as both a solvent and a chelating agent) and its conversion to high surface area anatase fibers is detailed. These nanorods have been used as a photoanode to fabricate a DSSC using a gel polymer electrolyte.