Improved conductivity in dye-sensitised solar cells through block-copolymer confined TiO2 crystallisation

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Guldin, Stefan ; Hüttner, Sven ; Tiwana, Priti ; Orilall, M. Christopher ; Ulgut, Burak ; Stefik, Morgan ; Docampo, Pablo ; Kolle, Matthias ; Divitini, Giorgio ; Ducati, Caterina ; Redfern, Simon A. T. ; Snaith, Henry J. ; Wiesner, Ulrich ; Eder, Dominik ; Steiner, Ullrich:
Improved conductivity in dye-sensitised solar cells through block-copolymer confined TiO2 crystallisation.
In: Energy & Environmental Science. Bd. 4 (2011) Heft 1 . - S. 225-233.
ISSN 1754-5706
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C0EE00362J

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Abstract

Anatase TiO2 is typically a central component in high performance dye-sensitised solar cells (DSCs). This study demonstrates the benefits of high temperature synthesised mesoporous titania for the performance of solid-state DSCs. In contrast to earlier methods, the high temperature stability of mesoporous titania is enabled by the self-assembly of the amphiphilic block copolymer polyisoprene-block-polyethylene oxide (PI-b -PEO) which compartmentalises TiO2 crystallisation, preventing the collapse of porosity at temperatures up to 700 °C. The systematic study of the temperature dependence on DSC performance reveals a parameter trade-off: high temperature annealed anatase consisted of larger crystallites and had a higher conductivity, but this came at the expense of a reduced specific surface area. While the reduction in specific surface areas was found to be detrimental for liquid-electrolyte DSC performance, solid-state DSCs benefitted from the increased anatase conductivity and exhibited a performance increase by a factor of three.