Low-temperature flexible Ti/TiO2 photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells with binder-free TiO2 paste

Lu Yin Lin, Chuan Pei Lee, Keng Wei Tsai, Min Hsin Yeh, Chia Yuan Chen, R. Vittal, Chun Guey Wu, Kuo Chuan Ho

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

An energy-economical dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) with highly flexible Ti/TiO2 photoanode was developed through a low-temperature process, using a binder-free TiO2 paste. Ti foils, coated with the binder-free TiO2 films were annealed at various temperature. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images of the films show uniform, mesoporous and crack-free surface morphologies as well as interpenetrated TiO2 network. DSSCs with binder-free TiO2 films annealed at 450, 350, 250 and 120°C show solar-to-electricity conversion efficiencies (η) of 4.33, 4.34, 3.72 and 3.40%, respectively, which are comparable to the efficiency of 4.56% obtained by using a paste with binder and annealing it at 450°C; this observation demonstrates the benefits of a binder-free TiO2 paste for the fabrication of energy-fugal DSSCs. On the other hand, when organic binder was used in the TiO2 paste for film preparation, a drastic deterioration in the cell performance with decreasing annealing temperature is noticed. Laser-induced photo-voltage transient technique is used to estimate the electron lifetime in various Ti/TiO2 films. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) analysis shows that the lower the annealing temperature of the TiO2 coated Ti foil, the larger the charge transfer resistance at the TiO2/dye/electrolyte interface (R ct2).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)181-190
Number of pages10
JournalProgress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications
Volume20
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2012

Keywords

  • dye-sensitized solar cells
  • electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
  • semi-transparent Pt counter electrode

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Low-temperature flexible Ti/TiO2 photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells with binder-free TiO2 paste'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this