Enhanced the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells with a novel photoanode using TiO2 nanoflower clusters and nanoparticles

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoflower clusters (NFC) composed of anatase TiO2 nanoflowers and TiO2 nanobelts framework were prepared through a simple hydrothermal synthesis. Then a novel nanocomposite photoanode were fabricated by mixing NFC and P25 nanoparticles in different mass ratio. The highest conversion efficiency of 6.38% (16% higher than P25 based DSSC) is achieved for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) made by a 5:5 (wt/wt) mixture of NFC and P25. The higher efficiency using mixed photoanode derives from the high light harvesting and good transferring properties of NFC, as well as the sufficient dye absorption due to the high specific surface area of P25 nanoparticles. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.