Synthesis, characterization, photocatalytic activity and dye-sensitized solar cell performance of nanorods/nanoparticles TiO2 with mesoporous structure

Nanorods/nanoparticles TiO2 with mesoporous structure were synthesized by hydrothermal method at 150 °C for 20 h. The samples characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, SAED, HRTEM, and BET surface area. The nanorods had diameter about 10–20 nm and the lengths of 100–200 nm, the nanoparticles had diameter about 5–10 nm. The prepared material had average pore diameter about 7–12 nm. The BET surface area and pore volume of the sample are about 203 m2/g and 0.655 cm3/g, respectively. The nanorods/nanoparticles TiO2 with mesoporous structure showed higher photocatalytic activity (I3− concentration) than the nanorods TiO2, nanofibers TiO2, mesoporous TiO2, and commercial TiO2 (ST-01, P-25, JRC-01, and JRC-03). The solar energy conversion efficiency (η) of the cell using nanorods/nanoparticles TiO2 with mesoporous structure was about 7.12% with Jsc of 13.97 mA/cm2, Voc of 0.73 V, and ff of 0.70; while η of the cell using P-25 reached 5.82% with Jsc of 12.74 mA/cm2, Voc of 0.704 V, and ff of 0.649.