Eosin-Y and Rose Bengal sensitized solar cell characteristics of N-doped nanocrystalline TiO<inf>2</inf> films

Abstract

Herein, the Eosin-Y and Rose Bengal sensitized solar cell characteristics of N-doped nanocrystalline TiO 2 films prepared by using Doctor's Blade method are investigated. The films are obtained from the N-doped nanocrystalline TiO 2 powders prepared by using simple hydrolysis route followed by annealing at 400 °C for 2 h. The resultant powder/ films are characterized by using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thickness profiler and UV-Visible spectroscopy. The structural studies revealed the evolution of pure nanocrystalline anatase TiO 2 phase (crystallite size ∼ 13 nm) in resultant powders. The morphological studies with SEM indicated the varied shaped agglomeration of primary spherical particles. The band gap energy and absorbance of resultant powder are found to be 2.88 eV and 0.79 respectively. The better photovoltaic performances: (i) V OC = 0.45 V, J SC = 0.963 mA/cm2, FF = 59.23 % and η = 0.52 % using Rose Bengal dye, (ii) V OC = 0.45 V, J SC = 9.67 mA/cm2, FF = 41.27 % &η = 1.27 % using Eosin-Y dye with polyiodide electrolyte are obtained for the dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) made by using photoanodes based on N-doped TiO 2 films.