Beneficial role of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide in the enhancement of photovoltaic properties of dye-sensitized rutile TiO2 solar cells |
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Authors: | Byun Hyun-Yong Vittal R Kim Dong Young Kim Kang-Jin |
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Institution: | Division of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, Korea. |
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Abstract: | A new approach involving the introduction of the common cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) for modifying a rutile TiO2 film during its formation from hydrolyzed TiCl4 solution has been adopted, intending to improve the photoelectrochemical properties of the pertinent dye-sensitized solar cell. CTAB-routed films were found to consist of smaller clusters of near-spherical TiO2 particles, compared with larger clusters of long rod-shaped particles in the absence of CTAB. As a consequence, the photocurrent and photovoltage of the cell fabricated by using CTAB have increased significantly, leading to a conversion efficiency increase, compared with those of the cell prepared without CTAB. On the basis of FE-SEM, BET, and XRD analyses, the increases are attributed to decreased particle size, improved interparticle connectivity, and enhanced crystallinity of the CTAB-promoted TiO2 particles and decreased void volume in the film. Faster growth of the TiO2 film was another beneficial effect of CTAB. A mechanism is proposed for the beneficial role of CTAB during the film formation. |
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