Polyaniline-Layered Rutile TiO2 Nanorods as Alternative Photoanode in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Anurag Roy; Soumita Mukhopadhyay; Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi; Senthilarasu Sundaram

doi:10.1021/acsomega.8b02628

Polyaniline-Layered Rutile TiO₂ Nanorods as Alternative Photoanode in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

ACS Omega. 2019 Jan 14;4(1):1130-1138. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.8b02628. eCollection 2019 Jan 31.

Authors

Anurag Roy^{1

2}, Soumita Mukhopadhyay¹, Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi¹, Senthilarasu Sundaram²

Affiliations

¹ Sensor and Actuator Division, CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata 700032, India.
² Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, United Kingdom.

Abstract

In this paper, dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) performance of the less explored polymorph of TiO₂, rutile, has been explored, and its performance has been modified with polyaniline (PANI) wrapping on the surface. For this purpose, highly crystalline rutile nanorods have been synthesized without any growth-directing substrates, employing a hydrothermal treatment. Further, to understand the phase composition and morphology, the synthesized nanorods and PANI-layered nanorods have been characterized through various physicochemical methods. The synthesized rods were implemented as photoanode material for DSSCs which exhibited a photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.28% with a high open-circuit voltage (V _OC) of 0.84 V which is highly superior to DSSC with Degussa P25 (PCE = 3.95%) TiO₂ nanoparticles. The resultant PCE of the nanorods was further enhanced to 6.23% on in situ deposition of PANI which acts as an electron-transporting layer. Introduction of conducting PANI over the rutile rod was explored as a new concept to improve the performance of photoanode material besides conventional TiCl₄ treatment or scattering layer deposition.