Controlling Morphological Parameters of Anodized Titania Nanotubes for Optimized Solar Energy Applications

Materials

Andrew Haring¹  Amanda Morris¹ 

[1] Department of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0212, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: titania;    TiO₂;    nanotube;    water oxidation;    bulk heterojunction solar cells;    dye-sensitized solar cells;    photoelectrochemical catalysis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ma5101890

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Anodized TiO₂ nanotubes have received much attention for their use in solar energy applications including water oxidation cells and hybrid solar cells [dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and bulk heterojuntion solar cells (BHJs)]. High surface area allows for increased dye-adsorption and photon absorption. Titania nanotubes grown by anodization of titanium in fluoride-containing electrolytes are aligned perpendicular to the substrate surface, reducing the electron diffusion path to the external circuit in solar cells. The nanotube morphology can be optimized for the various applications by adjusting the anodization parameters but the optimum crystallinity of the nanotube arrays remains to be realized. In addition to morphology and crystallinity, the method of device fabrication significantly affects photon and electron dynamics and its energy conversion efficiency. This paper provides the state-of-the-art knowledge to achieve experimental tailoring of morphological parameters including nanotube diameter, length, wall thickness, array surface smoothness, and annealing of nanotube arrays.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.