Cu2+ ions implanted porous titania for efficient dye sensitized solar cells

Abstract

In the quest to unlock the remarkable potential of nanotechnology, the sol-gel method was employed to craft a porous TiO2 nanostructured film, meticulously deposited onto FTO glass substrates. This endeavor marked a significant leap as a controlled bombardment of Cu ions, accelerated at 700 keV, at varying flux rates of 2x1013, 2x1014, and 2x1015 ions/cm² was introduced to these ingeniously engineered films. A comprehensive assessment of these nanocrystalline TiO2 structures, both before and after Cu+2 ion irradiation, revealed a fascinating array of results. he anatase tetragonal structure's permanence was validated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), which improved the material's stability and integrity. In the present study, an interesting observation was made that band edges show a dynamic behavior in Cuirradiated samples in UV-Vis spectroscopy. At 2x1014 ions/cm2, the phenomena peaked, revealing an intriguing redshift and an exceptionally low band gap value of 3.39 eV. In photoluminescence spectra, the peaks corresponding to the lattice defects show a significant reduction when the flux of the Cu ions on TiO2 is adjusted to 2 x 1014 ions/cm2. It is an indication that film quality and purity have improved. This arrangement for photoanode modification helps in the development of dye-sensitized solar cells with tremendous characteristics. The fabricated device with this novel approach results in high values of open circuit voltage (Voc), short circuit current density (Jsc), fill factor (FF), and maximum photoconversion efficiency of 5.10%. These findings indicate a new era of possibilities in the field of renewable energy, since these nanostructured materials have the ability to significantly alter the solar field.