P25 niblet-like coated on large void space TiO2 nanotubes arrays for high-rate charge-collection and improved photoconversion efficiency

Abstract

A niblet-like P25-coated large void space TiO2 nanotubes arrays (PCTs) has been synthesized by decorating P25 nanoparticles on a rapidly-synthesized large void space TiO2 nanotube arrays (LTAs) with an appropriate hydrothermal treatment approach in a Teflon-lined stainless steel autoclave. Some key factors and probable synthetic mechanisms have been investigated to obtain an optimal route. Exhilaratingly, the as-synthesized PCTs and LTAs show impressive morphologies, structures and very large void space. And the most important is that, compared with LTAs, the decorated PCTs demonstrates significantly improved dye loading and high-rate charge-collection capability and thus leads to a more than double of the solar cell efficiency than that of LTAs (from 1.46% of LTAs to 3.00% of PCTs under simulated AM 1.5 conditions in our case).