title: One-Pot Synthesis of Mesoporous TiO₂ Micropheres and Its Application for High-Efficiency Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.
abstract: TiO2 microspheres are of great interest for a great deal of applications, especially in the solar cell field. Because of their unique microstructure and light-scattering effect, TiO2 microsphere-based solar cells often exhibit superior photovoltaic performance. Hence, exploring new suitable TiO2 microspheres for high-efficiency solar cells is essential. In this work, we demonstrate a facile one-pot solvothermal approach for synthesis of TiO2 microspheres using acetone as solvent. The as-prepared TiO2 microspheres are composed of densely interconnected nanocrystals and possess a high specific surface area up to 138.47 m(2) g(-1). As the photoanode, the TiO2 microsphere-based DSSC gives higher dye loading and light adsorption ability as well as longer electron lifetime, resulting in higher short-circuit current value and superior power conversion efficiency (PCE) compared with Dyesol 18 nm TiO2 nanoparticle paste. Finally, the TiO2 microsphere-based DSSC were optimized by adding a TiO2 nanocrystal underlayer and TiCl4 post-treatment, giving a high PCE of 10.32%.
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Novel Thin-Film Solar Cells, Institute of Applied Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhao-Qian
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Novel Thin-Film Solar Cells, Institute of Applied Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.
authors.forename: Ya-Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Que
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Novel Thin-Film Solar Cells, Institute of Applied Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.
authors.forename: Li-E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.forename: Wang-Chao
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Novel Thin-Film Solar Cells, Institute of Applied Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Novel Thin-Film Solar Cells, Institute of Applied Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.
authors.forename: Yan-Mei
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Novel Thin-Film Solar Cells, Institute of Applied Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Novel Thin-Film Solar Cells, Institute of Applied Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.
authors.forename: Lin-Hua
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Novel Thin-Film Solar Cells, Institute of Applied Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.|‡Beijing Key Laboratory of Novel Thin-Film Solar Cells, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, PR China.
authors.forename: Song-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Dai
keywords: TiO2; acetone; dye-sensitized solar cell; mesoporous materials; microspheres