TY - JOUR
T1 - Fluorine-free synthesis of reduced graphene oxide modified anatase TiO2 nanoflowers photoanode with highly exposed {0 0 1} facets for high performance dye-sensitized solar cell
AU - Pugazhenthiran, N.
AU - Mangalaraja, R. V.
AU - Vijaya, S.
AU - Suresh, S.
AU - Kandasamy, M.
AU - Sathishkumar, P.
AU - Valdés, H.
AU - Gracia-Pinilla, M. A.
AU - Murugesan, S.
AU - Anandan, S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 International Solar Energy Society
PY - 2020/11/15
Y1 - 2020/11/15
N2 - A facile, fluorine-free and non-toxic one-pot solvothermal technique was adopted to synthesis TiO2 nanoflowers with anatase phase having 98% highly exposed {0 0 1} facets (TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs). The morphology, grain size and crystallinity of pure TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets modified TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs (RGO-TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs) were inspected by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM images showed the development of anatase TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs with high crystallinity and uniform shape. The influence of RGO on the performance of the TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs as a photoanode material in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) was examined. High energy conversion efficiency (ɳ) was observed for the DSSC based on a photoanode made of RGO-TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs when compared to DSSCs based on photoanodes fabricated using pure TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs and commercial Degussa P25 TiO2, which exhibited η of 6.78, 4.59 and 2.71%, respectively. The improved performance of the DSSC based on a photoanode composed of RGO-TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs was due to its good crystallinity, high dye intake and enhanced light-harvesting properties. Moreover, the presence of RGO greatly hindered the recombination of photogenerated electrons and increased their lifespan. This work discloses a novel efficient photoanode design for improving performance of the DSSCs.
AB - A facile, fluorine-free and non-toxic one-pot solvothermal technique was adopted to synthesis TiO2 nanoflowers with anatase phase having 98% highly exposed {0 0 1} facets (TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs). The morphology, grain size and crystallinity of pure TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets modified TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs (RGO-TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs) were inspected by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM images showed the development of anatase TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs with high crystallinity and uniform shape. The influence of RGO on the performance of the TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs as a photoanode material in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) was examined. High energy conversion efficiency (ɳ) was observed for the DSSC based on a photoanode made of RGO-TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs when compared to DSSCs based on photoanodes fabricated using pure TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs and commercial Degussa P25 TiO2, which exhibited η of 6.78, 4.59 and 2.71%, respectively. The improved performance of the DSSC based on a photoanode composed of RGO-TiO2 {0 0 1} NFs was due to its good crystallinity, high dye intake and enhanced light-harvesting properties. Moreover, the presence of RGO greatly hindered the recombination of photogenerated electrons and increased their lifespan. This work discloses a novel efficient photoanode design for improving performance of the DSSCs.
KW - Dye-sensitized solar cell
KW - Photovoltaic performance
KW - Reduced graphene oxide
KW - TiO nanoflowers
KW - {0 0 1} facets
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85093683401&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.solener.2020.10.008
DO - 10.1016/j.solener.2020.10.008
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85093683401
SN - 0038-092X
VL - 211
SP - 1017
EP - 1026
JO - Solar Energy
JF - Solar Energy
ER -