Electrospray Dense Suspensions of TiO₂ Nanoparticles for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

Figures & data

Fabrication of TiO₂ photoelectrode for DSSC using electrospray of dense suspensions. (a) Schematic of the experiment setup and (b) optical micrograph of the Taylor cone of the 40 wt.% TiO₂ suspension in EG at 0.05 mL/h. (Color figure available online.)

Figure 2 The droplet diameter (a) and current (b) as the function of flow rates for dense TiO₂ nanoparticle suspension.

Figure 3 The solid micro particles that consist of TiO₂ nanoparticle suspension dried at different temperature. (a) 150°C, (b) cross-section sample prepared by FIB of a micro particle dried at 150°C appears to be solid, and (c) the hollow and broken micro particle at 250°C (scale bar: 1 μm).

Figure 4 Normalized deposition number density of a single electrospray. (a) No relative motion between the ES and the substrate and (b) with relative motion between the ES and the substrate. (HV = 2 kv, x₀ = 10 mm, Q = 0.6 mL/h, I = 10 nA, d₀ = 10 μm.)

Figure 5 SEM images of the electrode prepared by electrospraying dense TiO₂ suspensions to substrate of 150°C and 250°C. (a) Side view of the deposited film showing decent film uniformity, (b) top view of the electrode at 231× magnification, and (c) top view of the electrode at 1180× magnification showing ∼20 μm clusters consist of micro agglomerates of ∼2 μm in diameter.

Figure 6 (a) The I-V curve for two ES prepared TiO₂ DSSC. (b) The mobility and impedance spectra of two ES prepared TiO₂ DSSC.