Solution processable titanium dioxide precursor and nanoparticulated ink : application in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells
Bosch Jiménez, Pau (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química)
Yu, Youhai (Centre de Investigació en Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Lira-Cantu, Monica (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Domingo, Concepción (Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona)
Ayllon, Jose Antonio (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química)

Date:	2014
Abstract:	Colloidal TiO anatase nanoparticles of 4-8nm diameter capped with 3,6,9-trioxadecanoic acid (TODA) were synthesized at low temperature using water and ethanol as the solvents. ATR-FTIR and H NMR characterization showed the capping acid capability of stabilizing the TiO nanoparticles through labile hydrogen bonds. The presence of the capping ligand permitted the further preparation of homogeneous and stable colloidal dispersions of the TiO powder in aqueous media. Moreover, after solvent evaporation, the ligand could be easily eliminated by soft treatments, such as UV irradiation or low-temperature thermal annealing. These properties have been used in this work to fabricate mesoporous TiO electrodes, which can be applied as photoanodes in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs). For the preparation of the electrodes, the as-synthesized mesoporous TiO nanoparticles were mixed with commercial TiO (Degussa P25) and deposited on FTO substrates by using the doctor blade technique. A mixture of water and ethanol was used as the solvent. A soft thermal treatment at 140°C for 2h eliminated the organic compound and produced a sintered mesoporous layer of 6μm thickness. The photovoltaic performance of the DSSCs applying these electrodes sensitized with the N3 dye resulted in 5. 6% power conversion efficiency.
Grants:	Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MAT2012-35161
Rights:	Tots els drets reservats.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió sotmesa a revisió
Subject:	Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) ; Ink ; Low-temperature ; Nanoparticles ; Titanium dioxide
Published in:	Journal of colloid and interface science, Vol. 416 (February 2014) , p. 112-118, ISSN 1095-7103

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2013.11.013

Preprint 8 p, 746.7 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles