The development of TiO2-graphene oxide nano composite thin films for solar cells

Abstract

Abstract TiO2-Graphene Oxide (TiO2-GO) nanocomposite thin films of different grades were successfully prepared using Titanium Tetra Isopropoxide (TIP) and Graphene Oxide (GO) nanosheet suspensions coated on aglass plate by a spin coating technique. TiO2-GO nanocomposite film samples were thoroughly characterized for their morphology, thickness and band gap changes by coating a thin layer of 250 nm thickness on a 2 cm × 2 cm glass plate. XRD analysis revealed the amorphous nature of the deposited layers. SEM images demonstrated the growth and distribution of the grains with some spherical/rod-like structures and partially agglomerated. AFM study indicated that the films are smooth with slightly larger surface roughness. The analysis of optical absorption data showed that the values of band gap energy decreased from 3.62 eV to 1.40 eV with increasing dopant quantity. This reduction might be attributed to electron and/or hole trapping at the donor and acceptor levels in the TiO2 band structure. Transfer Matrix Method (TMM) study on the film thickness influence on the optical properties of TiO2-GO (10 wt% GO) nanocomposite exhibited excellent properties of the film due to the inclusion of GO in the TiO2 matrix, which would be promising for application in the photovoltaic application.