Abstract
We report on the influence of annealing temperature (Ta) on the microstructure and dynamics of electron transport and recombination in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) incorporating oriented titanium oxide nanotube (NT) arrays. The morphology of the NT arrays was characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopies and Raman and X-ray diffraction spectroscopies. Over the temperature range from 200 to 600 °C, the crystallinity, crystal phase, and structural integrity of the NT walls underwent pronounced changes whereas the overall film architecture remained intact. Increasing Ta from 200 to 400 °C transformed the as-deposited NT film from the amorphous phase to partially crystalline (300 °C) to fully crystalline anatase (400 °C). When the as-deposited NTs were detached from the underlying Ti substrate and then annealed, the anatase crystallites comprising the NT walls were stable to at least 600 °C in air. When the NTs remained attached to the substrate, thermal oxidation of the Ti metal init...
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