Synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles by green approach: Application as photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Efficient photoanodes play a central role in the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells. Traditional methods for synthesizing TiO2 often involve chemical processes that can be expensive and environmentally harmful due to the use of toxic and hazardous substances. Therefore in this work, TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using bio-inspired processing through a hydrothermal procedure using different concentrations of Aloe barbadensis miller leaves extract as the reducing and stabilizing agent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–vis spectroscopy (UV), X-ray difraction (XRD), Raman Spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis were used to characterize as synthesized TiO2 NPs. DSSCs were fabricated employing the prepared TiO2 NPs as photoanodes, and their performance was assessed. DSSC generates JSC of 9.7 mA/cm2, VOC of 0.682 V and efficiency (η) of 4.3 % when 20 mL concentration of extract was used for the synthesis of TiO2 NPs and subsequently their photoanodes.