Translucent TiO2 Nanotube Film for Quantum Dots Sensitized Solar Cells

A translucent TiO2 nanotube film was fabricated as architecture for quantum dots sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). The CdS quantum dots (QDs) were deposited on this translucent film by successive ionic layer adsorption reaction (SILAR) method. We analyzed the CdS QDs sensitized TiO2 nanotube by SEM and TEM, which proved that this TiO2 nanotube film can absorb QDs for solar cell application. Based on this translucent TiO2 nanotube film, QDSSC which can be illuminated from photoanode was constructed. In comparison with QDSSC based on TiO2 nanotube grown on Ti foil for illuminated from counter electrode, the photoanode illuminated QDSSC shows a significant improvement of photovoltaic performance. The improved result can be ascribed to the contribution of translucent TiO2 NT film, which provides the possibility for photoanode illumination to reduce the loss of light caused by unwanted reflection and absorption.