Size and morphology effects of titania on dye-sensitized solar cells performance

• Titania with different size and morphology were prepared.
• Hydrothermal and spray drying process were applied.
• Solar cells with an efficiency of 5.88% were produced.

This study uses commercial titania (P25) to prepare titania nanowires (NWs) using alkali and hydrothermal treatments. Nanosized titania P25 and NWs were used to prepare spray-dried titania P25 (SP25) and spray-dried titania nanowires (SNWs), respectively, using the spray-drying process. These different titania sizes and morphologies were used to fabricate photoelectrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and to investigate their effect on cell performance. All prepared titania NWs and SNWs were in the anatase phase after heat treatment at 450 °C for 2 h. The specific areas for titania with different morphologies were 49.5 m2/g for P25, 48.3 m2/g for SP25, 42.6 m2/g for NWs, and 40.3 m2/g for SNWs. The results show that the surface areas decreased when the titania P25 or NWs were processed by spray drying. In optimal conditions, DSSCs prepared from P25 + 2.5 wt.% NWs with a light-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of 5.88% were produced using a simulated solar light irradiation of 100 mW/cm2 (AM 1.5).