Preparation of TiO2 films by layer-by-layer assembly and their application in solar cell

Polyacrylate sodium (PAAS)/titania (TiO2) multilayers have been fabricated through the electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly technique. The composite films display an excellent photovoltaic performance after sintering and sensitization by cyanine dye (CD), which can be applied in dye-sensitized solar cells. The properties of PAAS/TiO2 multilayers are investigated by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and photovoltaic measurements. The results indicate that the thermal stability of the PAAS has a direct influence on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells. The energy conversion efficiency of approximately 1.29% was obtained for dye-sensitized solar cell with TiO2/PAAS (40 bilayers) as precursor film. In addition, the composite films also show a good self-cleaning property for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue.