Sonochemical Synthesis of Titania Nanoparticles and Their Application for Photovoltaic Devices

A simple and efficient methodology has been established for the synthesis of pure anatase titania dioxide (TiO2) through a sonochemical process. By controlling the experimental condition, the particle sizes of nanocrystalline TiO2 are nanometric (similar to 10 nm). Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), infrared spectrum (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the morphology, structure and crystal formation of the as-prepared TiO2 based thin films. Subsequently, the photovoltaic performance of the obtained nanocrystalline particles based thin films in dye sensitized solar cells was investigated. The maximum energy conversion efficiency of 3.23% was achieved based on the obtained nanoparticles via sonochemistry, which is slightly better than those prepared from the commercial P25. The presence of TiO2 nanoparticles with smaller particle-size prepared via sonochemistry are beneficial to improving the dye absorption, which leads to the enhancement of the conversion efficiency.