Synthesis of hierarchical TiO2 nanowires with densely-packed and omnidirectional branches

Nanoscale. 2013 Nov 21;5(22):11147-52. doi: 10.1039/c3nr02584e. Epub 2013 Sep 27.

Abstract

In this study, a hierarchical TiO2 nanostructure with densely-packed and omnidirectional branches grown by a hydrothermal method is introduced. This morphology is achieved via high-concentration TiCl4 treatment of upright backbone nanowires (NWs) followed by hydrothermal growth. Secondary nanobranches grow in all directions from densely distributed, needle-like seeds on the jagged round surface of the backbone NWs. In addition, hierarchical, flower-like branches grow on the top surface of each NW, greatly increasing the surface area. For dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications, the TiO2 nanostructure demonstrated a photoconversion efficiency of up to 6.2%. A parametric study of the DSSC efficiency showed that branched TiO2 DSSCs can achieve nearly four times the efficiency of non-branched TiO2 nanowire DSSCs, and up to 170% the efficiency of previously-reported sparsely-branched TiO2 NW DSSCs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.