Titanium dioxide/graphene anode for enhanced charge-transfer in dye-sensitized solar cell

•Graphene integrated TiO2 anodes are synthesized for reducing electron loss.•The photogenerated electrons have a high transfer kinetics along graphene network.•Graphene can hinder aggregation of TiO2 and create defects for dye adsorption.•The DSSC with graphene integrated TiO2 anode yields an efficiency of 7.56%.

Enhancement of power conversion efficiency has been a persistent objective for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). We represent here the feasibility of incorporating graphene into mesoscopic TiO2 with an aim of reducing electron loss within an anode. Results indicate that the short-circuit current density has been markedly enhanced due to the facile transfer of photogenerated electrons along graphene network from conduction band of TiO2 nanocrystallites. An optimal power conversion efficiency of 7.56% is recorded from the DSSC employing 0.03 wt% graphene integrated TiO2 in comparison with 5.21% for pristine TiO2 based solar cell.