A novel nanocomposite TiO2 photoanode for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

In this study, we present a novel trilayered hierarchical TiO2 nanocomposite film with three different titania, i.e., nanoparticle (NP), submicron particle (SP), and nanotube (NT) for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The obtained trilayer-structured film exhibits efficient internal light trapping, fast electron transport and fluent redox diffusion. A significant improvement is achieved with a photoenergy conversion efficiency of 9.36% under AM 1.5 G simulated sunlight illumination, corresponding to a ∼55% enhancement as compared to that with the same thickness of the NP layer alone.

► A novel trilayered hierarchical TiO2 nanocomposite film with three different titania for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). ► Trilayer-structured film exhibited efficient internal light trapping, fast electron transport and fluent redox diffusion. ► A ∼55% enhancement as compared to that with the same thickness of the titania nanoparticle layer alone.