Facile preparation of large aspect ratio ellipsoidal anatase TiO2 nanoparticles and their application to dye-sensitized solar cell

A simple one-step heat-treatment of peroxotitanate complex aqueous solution at around 100 °C was resulted in the formation of ellipsoidal anatase TiO2 nanoparticles having a high aspect ratio with no branches. The length of these ellipsoidal TiO2 falls in the range of 200–350 nm, depending on mole ratio of Ti4+/H2O2. Dye-sensitized solar cell based on these ellipsoidal nanocrystalline TiO2 as photoanode was fabricated and characterized.