Fabrication of novel AgTiO2 nanobelts as a photoanode for enhanced photovoltage performance in dye sensitized solar cells

•A facile route was adopted to construct well-dispersed Ag nanoparticles on TiO2 nanobelts (Ag—TiO2NBs).•Structure and photoelectrochemical properties of Ag—TiO2NBs were studied.•Ag nanoparticles were found to modify the defects of TiO2NBs.•Enhanced photovoltaic property of Ag—TiO2NBs, compared to TiO2NBs.

TiO2 nanobelts (TiO2NBs) were successfully prepared using a solvothermal route via Ti foil as substrate in large scales. The morphology evolution process and formation mechanism of the as-obtained products were investigated in detail. On the basis of this novel structure, chemical sensitive Ag modified TiO2NBs nanocomposites (AgTiO2NBs) were fabricated. It was found that AgTiO2NBs exhibit strong light absorption and efficient electron transport. According to Mott-Schottky analysis, AgTiO2NBs show less surface trapping sites compared with TiO2NBs. The AgTiO2NBs photoanode fabricated in 0.01 M AgNO3 demonstrates the best performance with a short-circuit current of 11.9 mA cm−2 corresponding to a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 4.89%, which is higher than that of pure TiO2NBs based solar cell by 60%.

Graphical abstractJ-V curves of DSSCs based on TiO2NPs, TiO2NBs and AgTiO2NBs—X under AM 1.5 conditions (100 mW cm−2). AgTiO2NBs nanocomposites were prepared via a simple and effective method. Owing to strong light absorption and efficient electron transport, AgTiO2NBs—0.01 M shows a PCE of 4.89% when prepared as a photoanode in DSSCs.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide