Abstract
Titania mesoporous film is a key component of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as it transfers electrons from dye molecule to external circuit through the transparent conducting oxide (TCO). Interparticle connectivity, porosity and cracks in the titania films play an important role in determining the performance of DSSCs. The heating schedule with respect to the repetitive coating to build up titania film thickness impacts the titania film characteristics. In the present study, experiments were designed to carry out heat treatments with expectation of improving connectivity and healing cracks. Repetitive screen printing was carried out with either heat treatment after each print step (multiple sintering) or the heat treatment was carried out just once after the desired thickness had been attained (single-step sintering). Interconnectivity of the titania particles in the sintered titania film was analyzed by impedance spectroscopy and nanoindentation. Titania films sintered by MS showed better performance in terms of higher efficiency for the corresponding DSSCs than those prepared using titania films sintered by SS.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
M. Grätzel, Dye-sensitized solar cells. J. Photochem. Photobiol. C Photochem. Rev. 4(2), 145–153 (2003)
T. Miyasaka, T. Miyasaka, M. Ikegami, M. Ikegami, Y. Kijitori, Y. Kijitori, Photovoltaic performance of plastic dye-sensitized electrodes prepared by low-temperature binder-free coating of mesoscopic titania. J. Electrochem. Soc. 154(5), A455 (2007)
H.C. Weerasinghe, F. Huang, Y.-B. Cheng, Fabrication of flexible dye sensitized solar cells on plastic substrates. Nano Energy, 2(2), 174–189, (2013)
S. Mathew, A. Yella, P. Gao, R. Humphry-Baker, B.F.E. Curchod, N. Ashari-Astani, I. Tavernelli, U. Rothlisberger, M.K. Nazeeruddin, M. Grätzel, Dye-sensitized solar cells with 13% efficiency achieved through the molecular engineering of porphyrin sensitizers. Nat. Chem. 6(3), 242–247 (2014)
C. Cavallo, F. Di Pascasio, A. Latini, M. Bonomo, D. Dini, Nanostructured semiconductor materials for dye-sensitized solar cells. J. Nanomater. 2017 (2017)
M. Grätzel, Solar energy conversion by dye-sensitized photovoltaic cells. Inorg. Chem. 44(20), 6841–6851 (2005)
A.K. Jena, P. Bhargava, Effect of amount of dye in the TiO2 photoanode on electron transport, recombination, Jsc and Voc of dye-sensitized solar cells. RSC Adv. 3(8), 2655 (2013)
S. Ito, P. Chen, P. Comte, M.K. Nazeeruddin, P. Liska, M. Gra, Fabrication of screen-printing pastes from TiO2 Powders for dye-sensitised solar cells. Prog. Photovolt Res. Appl. 15, 603–612 (2007)
S.P. Mohanty, V. More, P. Bhargava, Effect of aging conditions on the performance of dip coated platinum counter electrode based dye sensitized solar cells. RSC Adv. 5(24), 18647–18654 (2015)
J. Bisquert, Theory of the impedance of electron diffusion and recombination in a thin layer. J. Phys. Chem. B 106, 325–333 (2002)
H.C. Weerasinghe, G.V. Franks, J.D. Plessis, G.P. Simon, Y.-B. Cheng, Anomalous rheological behavior in chemically modified TiO2 colloidal pastes prepared for flexible dye-sensitized solar cells. J. Mater. Chem. 20(44), 9954 (2010)
S.P. Mohanty, V. More, P. Bhargava, Effect of aging conditions on the performance of dip coated platinum counter electrode based dye sensitized solar cells. RSC Adv. 5, 18647–18654 (2015)
J. Bisquert, F. Fabregat-Santiago, Impedance spectroscopy: a general introduction and application to dye-sensitized solar cells. In: Dye-sensitized solar cells, p 604, 2010
S. Sarker, A.J.S. Ahammad, H.W. Seo, D.M. Kim, Electrochemical impedance spectra of dye-sensitized solar cells: fundamentals and spreadsheet calculation. Int. J. Photoenergy 2014 (2014)
W.-Q. Wu, H.-S. Rao, Y.-F. Xu, Y.-F. Wang, C.-Y. Su, D.-B. Kuang, Hierarchical oriented anatase TiO2 nanostructure arrays on flexible substrate for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells. Sci. Rep. 3, 1–7 (2013)
C.P. Hsu, K.M. Lee, J.T.W. Huang, C.Y. Lin, C.H. Lee, L.P. Wang, S.Y. Tsai, K.C. Ho, EIS analysis on low temperature fabrication of TiO2 porous films for dye-sensitized solar cells. Electrochim. Acta 53(25), 7514–7522 (2008)
V. Gondane, P. Bhargava, Tuning flat band potential of TiO2 using an electrolyte additive to enhance open circuit voltage and minimize current loss in dye sensitized solar cells. Electrochim. Acta 209, 293–298 (2016)
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge Corning Inc. USA and DST India (Project codes 10DST030 and 11DST073) for financial support. We are thankful to Sophisticated Analytical Instruments Facility (SAIF), IIT Bombay, for providing the FEG-SEM facility. Industrial Research & Consultancy Centre (IRCC), IIT Bombay, is also acknowledged for providing the Nanoindenter facility.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
More, V., Mokurala, K. & Bhargava, P. Influence of different heat treatment methods of titania film on performance of DSSCs. Appl. Phys. A 124, 345 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-018-1747-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-018-1747-6