Hydrothermal Fabrication of Quasi-One-Dimensional Single-Crystalline Anatase TiO2 Nanostructures on FTO Glass and Their Applications in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

One-dimensional and quasi-one-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures are desirable for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), since they can provide direct pathways for the rapid collection of photogenerated electrons, which could improve the photovoltaic performance of the device. Quasi-1D single-crystalline anatase TiO2 nanostructures have been successfully prepared on transparent, conductive fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass with a growth direction of [101] through a facile hydrothermal approach. The influences of the initial titanium n-butoxide (TBT) concentration, hydrothermal reaction temperature, and time on the length of quasi-ID anatase TiO2 nanostructures and on the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs have been investigated in detail. A power conversion efficiency of 5.81% has been obtained based on the prepared TiO2 nanostructure photoelectrode 6.7 mu m thick and commercial N719 dye, with a short-circuit current density of 13.3 mA cm(-2) an open-circuit voltage of 810 mV, and a fill factor of 0.54.