One-step synthesis of coaxial Ag/TiO 2 nanowire arrays on transparent conducting substrates: Enhanced electron collection in dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Oriented coaxial Ag/TiO 2 nanowire arrays were successfully grown on transparent conductive substrates by solvothermal route. After filling the interspaces between the nanowires with TiO 2 nanoparticles, the composites were used as the photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells. Such photoanodes provided the high specific surface area and the rapid electron transport rate to improve the charge collection efficiency. An energy conversion efficiency of 9.8% was achieved, when the TiO 2 shell thickness is 2.1 times greater than the silver core diameter. Meanwhile, the charge recombination rate and the electron lifetime of the cells were also investigated.