Photovoltaic studies on iodine incorporated titania aerogel nanocomposites

Abstract

Iodine incorporated titania aerogel nanocomposites were synthesized by the sol–gel method. The nanocomposites were obtained by varying the concentration of iodine as 0, 5, 10, and 20% with respect to the weight percentage of titania. All the synthesized nanocomposites retained the crystallinity and anatase phase, confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies. High-resolution scanning electron microscope images of nanocomposites showed the porous structure with agglomeration by increasing the concentration of iodine. The energy dispersive spectrum revealed the entry of the iodine into the titania aerogel. The absorption edge of the nanocomposites from the UV–Visible spectroscopy showed the red-shifted and thereby reducing the band gap with increasing iodine concentration. The photovoltaic performance of the synthesized iodine-incorporated titania aerogel nanocomposites was performed using as photoanode in the quasi-solid dye-sensitized solar cell and found that the efficiency is increasing with increasing iodine in titania aerogel. The photostability and reproducibility of the device were greater than the pristine aerogel.