Enhanced light harvesting of TiO2/La0.95Tb0.05PO4 photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

•TiO2/La0.95Tb0.05PO4 nanocrystallites are fabricated by a facile hydrothermal method.•The light intensity and therefore dye excitation have been markedly enhanced.•A conversion efficiency of 7.27% for the DSSC employing TiO2/0.5 wt% La0.95Tb0.05PO4 is obtained.•The strategy provides new opportunities for efficient DSSCs.

With an aim of enhancing light harvesting for dye adsorption and therefore photovoltaic performances of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), we present here an employment of La0.95Tb0.05PO4 incorporated TiO2 nanocrystallites as photoanodes. The preliminary results demonstrate that the dye absorption and therefore electron generation have been markedly enhanced, arising from the conversion of ultraviolet to visible light by La0.95Tb0.05PO4. The crystal structure and light harvesting performances of photoanodes are optimized by adjusting La0.95Tb0.05PO4 dosage. The power conversion efficiency is enhanced from 6.52% for pristine TiO2 based DSSC to 7.27% for the device employing TiO2/0.5 wt% La0.95Tb0.05PO4, yielding an efficiency enhancement by 11.35%. This study provides a new strategy for the fabrication of highly efficient DSSCs.