Ethanol-soluble amphiphilic TiO(2) nanoparticles (NPs) of average diameter ∼9 nm were synthesized, and an α-terpineol-based TiO(2) paste was readily prepared from them in comparatively few steps. When used for fabrication of photoelectrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), the paste yielded highly transparent films and possessing greater-than-typical, thickness-normalized surface areas. ...

A vertically aligned carbon nanofiber array coated with anatase TiO(2) (CNF/TiO(2)) is an attractive possible replacement for the sintered TiO(2) nanoparticle network in the original dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) design due to the potential for improved charge transport and reduced charge recombination. Although the reported efficiency of 1.1% in these modified DSSC's is encouraging, the lim...

A series of carbon nanohorns (CNHs) constituted by the aggregation of about 2000 individual conical graphene tubes (diameters from 2 nm to 5 nm and a length of 40-50 nm) that have been modified with dyes of two, three, or four terthienyl groups has been prepared by adsorbing the corresponding dye on the CNH. Persistent inks in o-dichlorobenzene (o-DCB) of these dye-CNH conjugates were obtained ...

Mesoscopic solar cells based on nanostructured oxide semiconductors are considered as a promising candidates to replace conventional photovoltaics employing costly materials. However, their overall performances are below the sufficient level required for practical usages. Herein, this study proposes an anodized Ti foam (ATF) with multidimensional and hierarchical architecture as a highly effici...

In this study we report a detailed exploration of the use of two different co-adsorbents - namely bis-methoxyphenylphosphinic acid (BMPP) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) - known to increase photoconversion efficiency (PCE) of DSSCs sensitized with N719. We have explored the variation of their abilities with the [co-ads]/[D] ratio of the sensitization bath in order to lower the intermolecular d...

The charge recombination and exciton dissociation are generally recognized as the basic electronic processes limiting the efficiency of photovoltaic devices. In this work, we propose a detailed mechanism of photocurrent generation in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) examined by magnetic field effect (MFE) technique. Here we demonstrate that the magnitude of the MFE on photocurrent in DSSCs ca...

As an alternative photosensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells, bovine serum albumin (BSA) (a nonhazardous protein) was used in the synthesis of colloidal CdS nanoparticles (NPs). This system has been employed to replace the commonly used N719 dye molecule. Various nanostructured forms of ZnO, namely, nanorod and nanoparticle-based photoanodes, have been sensitized with colloidal CdS NPs to ev...

Highly crystalline mesoporous materials with oriented configurations are in demand for high-performance energy conversion devices. We report a simple evaporation-driven oriented assembly method to synthesize three-dimensional open mesoporous TiO2 microspheres with a diameter of ~800 nm, well-controlled radially oriented hexagonal mesochannels, and crystalline anatase walls. The mesoporous TiO2 ...

A detailed theoretical investigation of one dimensional SiO2/TiO2 photonic crystal based ZnO-Pt dye sensitized solar cell with N719 is carried out. The optical properties the theoretically designed such as transmittance, absorptance and reflectance are calculated using transfer matrix method in order to calculate numerically key parameters like open circuit voltage (VOC), short current (Jsc) ef...

The addition of a small organic electron donor, tris(p-anisyl)amine (TPAA), to an iodide/triiodide electrolyte for dye-sensitized solar cells was found give pronounced effects on charge transfer reactions. When using the dye LEG4 as sensitizer, improved cell performance found, which could be attributed extremely rapid regeneration reaction when TPAA is added. In contrast, ruthenium N719, no sig...