Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T01:53:36.086Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Self-Organization in Nanoparticle Titanium Dioxide Thin Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

S.D. Burnside
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH- 1015 Lausanne SWITZERLAND
V. Shklover
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH- 1015 Lausanne SWITZERLAND
C.A. Barbe
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH- 1015 Lausanne SWITZERLAND
K. Brooks
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH- 1015 Lausanne SWITZERLAND
P. Comte
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH- 1015 Lausanne SWITZERLAND
F. Arendse-Duriaux
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH- 1015 Lausanne SWITZERLAND
M. Jirousek
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH- 1015 Lausanne SWITZERLAND
M. Graetzel
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH- 1015 Lausanne SWITZERLAND
Get access

Abstract

Nanocrystalline titanium dioxide has been synthesized using a sol-gel technique followed by hydrothermal growth at temperatures in the range 190-270°C. Thin films of these colloids were studied using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and nitrogen adsorption/desorption. Self-organization of the nanocrystalline particles in regular arrays was observed in films made from colloids autoclaved at lower temperatures. We present herein initial photovoltaic performance of these semiconducting films used as working electrodes in a dye-sensitized solar cell.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1(a) Barbe, C.J., Arendse, F., Comte, P. et al. , “Nanocrystalline TiO2 Electrodes for Photovoltaic Applications,” J. Amer. Cer. Soc. 80, 31573171 (1997). (b) See references in: C. Jeffrey Brinker and George W. Scherer, Sol-Gel Science (Academic Press, Boston, 1990).10.1111/j.1151-2916.1997.tb03245.xGoogle Scholar
2 Gerfin, T., Graetzel, M., and Walder, L., “Molecular and Supramolecular Surface Modification of Nanocrystalline TiO2 Films: Charge-Searating and Charge-Injecting Devices,” in Progress in Inorganic Chemistry, edited by Karlin, Kenneth D. (John Wiley and Sons, 1997), Vol. 44.Google Scholar
3 O'Regan, B. and Graetzel, M., “A low cost, high efficiency solar cell based on dye sensitized colloidal TiO2 films,” Nature 353, 737739 (1991).10.1038/353737a0Google Scholar
4 Kay, Andreas and Graetzel, Michael, “Low cost photovoltaic modules based on dye sensitized nanocrystalline titanium dioxide and carbon powder,” Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 44, 99117 (1996).10.1016/0927-0248(96)00063-3Google Scholar
5 Gratzel, Michael, “Nanocrystalline Electronic Junctions,” in Semiconductor Nanoclusters: Physical, Chemical, and Catalytic Aspects, edited by Kamat, P.V. and Meisel, D. (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1996), Vol. 103, pp. 353375.10.1016/S0167-2991(97)81110-XGoogle Scholar
6 Planta, Conradin von, “Die Photoelektrische Charakterisierung der mit Farbstoff Sensibilisierten Nanokristallinen Solarzellen,” PhD, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, 1996.Google Scholar
7 Burnside, Shelly D., Shklover, Valery, Barbé, Christophe et al. , “Self-Organization of TiO2 Nanoparticles in Thin Films,” submitted to Chem. Mater.Google Scholar
8 Moritz, T., Reiss, J., Diesner, K. et al. , “Nanostructured Crystalline TiO2 through Growth Control and Stabilization of Intermediate Structural Building Units,” J. Phys. Chem. B 101, 80528053 (1997).10.1021/jp9705131Google Scholar
9(a) Aksay, Ilhan A., Baer, Eric, Sarikaya, Mehmet et al. , Hierarchically Structured Materials (Materials Research Society, Pittsburgh, 1992). (b) A.P. Alivisatos, “Semiconductor Clusters, Nanocrystals, and Quantum Dots,” Science 271, 933-937 (1996).Google Scholar