Study of Two Facile Methods for Preparation of Titanium Dioxide/Graphene Nanocomposite for DSSC’s Photoanode

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a well-known promising photocatalyst that has been used as the photoanode in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). Since graphene has good electrical, mechanical and chemical properties, its use is supposed to enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2, the absorption of dye and enhance the mechanical strength of the layers of DSSC. There are several methods of preparing TiO2/graphene composite using complicated process and high-tech instruments. In this study, TiO2/graphene nanocomposite was prepared using two facile methods, which is achieved by mixing graphene oxide (GO) sheets with commercially available TiO2paste and the other method was based on thermal reaction of mixed TiO2and GO before incorporating it to the working electrode of DSSC. The quality of GO reduction in the process of making the composite was characterized by using FTIR spectra and Raman spectroscopy.