Ultrasound effects on titanium dioxide compact layer and its application of dye-sensitized solar cell

Abstract

Herein, the influence of ultrasound on the compact layer of titanium dioxide was studied. An anodization technique formed a titanium dioxide layer on the Ti substrate. The lactic acid electrolyte contained dimethyl sulfoxide and ammonium fluoride, and the condition of the experiment was 20 volts for 30 min. The results proved the important role of sound vibration in the growth of titanium dioxide nanotubes (TiO2-NTs). In the absence of ultrasound, it was found that nanoporous oxide (TiO2-NPO) was formed with an aggregation of titanium dioxide particles. The XRD analysis proved that the phase of TiO2-NPO and TiO2-NTs is anatase, with estimated crystal sizes of 34.07 nm and 14.33 nm (101). FE-SEM images confirmed the growth of nanotube structures and the nanoporous compact oxide layer on the titanium surface. The EDS spectra showed the atomic ratio of elements for the Ti and O was 1:2 and 1:1 in sequences of 41.07 % and 58.93 %. A dye-sensitized solar cell has been fabricated from the TiO2-NPO and TiO2-NTs photoanodes. The graphene nanoplate was used as counter electrodes to evaluate power conversion. The findings showed for TiO2-NTs η = 0.492 and Jsc = 2.416 mA/cm2 under 100 mW/cm2 sunlight simulation.