Wet-chemical decoration of SiO2 spheres with TiO2 particles for enhanced dye degradation and solar cell performance

TiO2-decorated SiO2 spheres (TSS) were synthesized using a two-step process consisting of the Stober process for SiO(2 )spheres' (SS) synthesis and pseudo-successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (p-SILAR) for the decoration of TiO2 on pre-synthesized SiO2 spheres. Nanoscale decoration of TiO2 over SiO2 as evidenced by X-ray photoelectron microscopy and TEM, served as a source for enhancing the ultra-violet irradiation-dependent photocatalytic performance of TSS, resulting in ~65% degradation of RhB dye in an hour. Detailed electron microscopy was employed to see the morphological and compositional contrast between SS and TSS. In addition, TSSs were used as light scattering particles in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), where a 12% increase in the power conversion efficiency was observed that was credited to enhanced photocurrent density (Jsc) of DSSCs having TSS. It is to reiterate that the p-SILAR proved pretty effectual for deposition of TiO2 NPs on SiO2 spheres, which proved effective for multiple applications.