Fabrication of TiO2 nanotube arrays and their application in flexible dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

TiO₂ nanotube arrays have been widely used as the photoelectrode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In this work, free-standing TiO₂ nanotube arrays were prepared by two-step electrochemical anodization of titanium foils, then the TiO₂ nanotube arrays were transferred to a flexible ITO/PEN substrate using titania slurries. SEM images showed that the TiO₂ nanotube arrays with different lengths (10, 14, 20 and 30 μm) were successfully obtained. The photovoltaic properties for incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE) and photovoltaic conversion efficiency were also studied, showing that the best photovoltaic conversion efficiency of DSSCs based on 20 μm length TiO₂ nanotube arrays was 3.44%.