Low-temperature Preparation And Properties Study Of Dye-sensitized Nanocrystalline TiO₂ Thin Film Electrodes

The nanocrystailine TiO₂ porous thin film electrodes of the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have high surface roughness and surface area so that it can adsorb a large number of sensitizer and improve the overall light-to-electricity efficiencies of the DSSCs, which make the wide application of the dye-sensitized solar cells available. However, the disadvantages of the conductive glass substrates we used to prepare nanocrystailine TiO₂ thin film electrodes such as heavy weight, fragility, not easy-to-integrity limit the practical application of the DSSCs. To overcome this problem, an important way is to use flexible substrates instead of glass substrates and make flexible dye-sensitized solar cells. Considering the poor thermal stability of the flexible substrates, how to prepare nanocrystailine TiO₂ electrodes at low temperature and make the DSSCs based on them exhibit high efficiencies is very important in the study of flexible dye-sensitized solar cells. According to this, we have prepared the nanocrystailine TiO₂ electrodes at low or high temperature and research the properties of these electrodes. We also have prepared the flexible dye-sensitized solar cells and studied the properties of the cells.1. Nanocrystailine TiO₂ thin film electrodes were prepared using sol-gel method by optimizing the processing parameters. The properties of the nanocrystailine TiO₂ electrodes were studied.2. The properties of the nanocrystailine TiO₂ electrodes prepared by different methods or different precursors at low temperature were studied and compared.3. A novel type of nanocrystailine TiO₂ electrodes were designed and prepared on the glass substrates at low temperature by using this easy method. The DSSCs based on these electrodes have exhibited high efficiencies by optimizing the processing parameters. The overall light-to-electricity efficiency of the cell was 4. 88 % under the illumination of 100 mW/cm2. 4. The nanocrystailine TiO₂ electrodes were prepared on the flexible substratesat low temperature by using this new method. The overall light-to-electricity efficiency of the DSSCs based on the flexible electrode was 1.98 % at illumination of 100 mW/cm2.