Pure TiO2 Photoanode Research Articles

Construction and photoelectrocatalytic performance of TiO2/BiVO4 heterojunction modified with cobalt phosphate

Developing the low-cost, high performance and stable photoelectrocatalysts with water splitting performance is great important for the future energy supplement. Herein, the TiO2/BiVO4 heterojunction modified by cobalt phosphate (Co-Pi) has been successfully constructed by firstly preparing TiO2 nanopillar by the solvothermal method, followed by coupling BiVO4 films via sol-gel method and finally, the formed heterojunction is decorated with Co-Pi nanoparticles. On account of the better visible-light response, suitable band structure design and faster hole transfer effect from Co-Pi, the obtained TiO2/BiVO4/Co-Pi nanocomposite exhibits excellent activity and stability of photoelectrochemical (PEC) property, achieving a photocurrent density of 2.36 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE in 0.5 M Na2SO4 electrolyte, which is nine times as high as that of pure TiO2 photoanode, and possessing the best photo-corrosion resistance. Compared with the initial transient current, the photocurrent of TiO2/BiVO4/Co-Pi photoanode decreases by 25% in a steady state at 3600s, which has a better electrochemical stability, in contrast to 33% drop of TiO2/BiVO4 and 50% drop of TiO2. This route is promising as a simple method to expand the optical response range and improve the performance of PEC system effectively, also providing a guidance to construct other advanced photoelectron-catalysts for energy conversion and utilization.

The role of CoPi and nitrogen doping in enhancing photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation performance of mesoporous TiO2 beads

High surface area mesoporous TiO2 beads were prepared using a facile two steps method without any post-annealing. The obtained TiO2 beads were doped with nitrogen using various nitrogen precursors having different concentrations. Photoanodes were then fabricated using the obtained as-synthesized or doped TiO2 beads. Selected TiO2 photoanodes were deposited with a layer of cobalt-phosphate or CoPi. It was found that nitrogen doping prior to the CoPi loading is very critical for the successful loading of the CoPi. The materials characteristics of the photoanodes were first examined. Photoelectrochemical cells having different TiO2–based photoanodes were then evaluated for hydrogen generation. The hydrogen generation efficiency was enhanced, by as much as 460%, due to the nitrogen doping. Further enhancement of the efficiency has also been achieved through the addition of CoPi. Moreover, we demonstrate the role of CoPi is to drastically boost the light absorption. A high photocurrent conversion efficiency of 0.44% has been obtained. Compared to the pure TiO2 photoanode, the CoPi increases the efficiency by as much as 880%.

Synergic effect of graphene and core−shells structured Au NR@SiO2@TiO2 in dye-sensitized solar cells

Graphene and Au nanorods (AuNRs) coated with SiO2@TiO2 double shells (AuNR@SiO2@TiO2) were incorporated to form novel composite photoanodes in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The performances of the photoanodes and DSSCs are studied systematically. The short circuit current density (Jsc) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of these composited DSSCs were greatly enhanced and the influences of the graphene, AuNRs and the SiO2@TiO2 double shells were revealed. The optimal properties with the maximal Jsc of 16.26 mA cm−2 and PCE of 8.08% are obtained in the DSSC co-doped with graphene and AuNR@SiO2@TiO2, significantly higher than those of the conventional DSSC with pure TiO2 photoanode by 37.7% and 32.9%, respectively. These significant enhancements in Jsc and PCE are attributed to the synergistic effect of graphene, the local surface plasma resonance of AuNRs, as well as the outer SiO2@TiO2 double shells, which result in the increased specific surface area and dye adsorption, the increased light absorption, the decreased charge transfer resistance R2 and electron recombination and thus the increased Jsc and PCE of the DSSCs.

Interface effect of graphene–TiO2 photoanode with CuO nanorod counter electrode on solar conversion efficiency and enhanced external quantum efficiency

In this study, graphene–TiO2 nanostructures and CuO nanorods were produced on FTO (F:SnO2) substrates using the cost effective hydrothermal growth method. The interface effects of the graphene–TiO2 nanostructures were examined to compare with pure TiO2 photoanode in respect to solar cell efficiency. Graphene–TiO2 was shown as a perfect alternative for the standard F:SnO2 (FTO)/TiO2 working electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells due to its higher electro-optic activity, surface area and good charge transport characteristics. Furthermore, CuO nanorods were also investigated as efficient counter electrodes (CEs) to be used in place of the conventional and costly platinum (Pt) CEs. By utilizing graphene–TiO2 photoanode and CuO nanorod based CEs, hybrid solar cells with photovoltaic efficiency of 6.18% under AM 1.5G solar radiation were produced. According to the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the hybrid solar cell agreement with the J–V measurements, the device based on the hybrid CuO CE exhibited higher EQE. EQE was improved by 30% compared to the Pt CE due to the higher Jsc, Voc and the fill factor of the hybrid devices.

Enhanced photon harvesting in dye-sensitized solar cells by doping TiO2 photoanode with NaYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ microrods

An effective strategy to improve the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by infrared radiations (IR) and near infrared radiations (NIR) harvesting, using upconversion crystalline microrods NaYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ is put forward. NaYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ crystals were prepared with varying compositions of NaYF4, Yb3+ and Tm3+, and then in three different morphologies including small hexagonal microprisms, big hexagonal microprisms and hexagonal microrods for the investigation of the role of composition and morphology on upconversion efficiency. Thus, the crystals with efficient upconversion can be to screened out for doping with TiO2 photoanode of solar cells. Crystalline microrods, synthesized by hydrothermal method, show better upconversion as compared to microprisms prepared in two different sizes. On the other hand, these crystals also show downconversion. Addition of small amount of these microrods in TiO2 electrode of DSSCs increases light harvesting ability of photoanode TiO2 and consequently, photocurrent conversion efficiency is enhanced. Moreover these rare earth ions, being p-type dopant, raise the energy level of the TiO2 film and resultantly increase the photovoltage. Maximum power conversion efficiency 7.03% was achieved at an optimized proportion of NaYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ in TiO2 (by weight). This 7.03% efficiency is 14.7% higher than the efficiency of pure TiO2 photoanode (6.13%). This improvement in efficiency can be credited to upconversion characteristics of doping material.

Designing and fabrication of phenothiazine and carbazole based sensitizers for photocatalytic water splitting application

In the present work, we have designed and synthesized two carbazole and phenothiazine donor moieties based metal-free organic sensitizers and their codes are WCBZ2 and WPTZ2 respectively. These sensitizers have been used for photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) evaluation application. The sensitizers exhibit good light absorption capability and electrochemical properties as well. For increasing water splitting capacity, incorporate platinum salt on TiO2 semiconductor photoanode was performed and compared hydrogen evolution with pure TiO2 photoanode. We have also studied the influence of the sensitizer's concentration and the effect of pH of the medium was explored. Using a theoretical measurement optimized both the synthesized dimer dyes structure geometry and the calculated their HOMO-LUMO energy level. Here also reported optimized pH and concentration of sensitizers in the reaction medium and found that the high hydrogen generation efficiency from water splitting is 138.3 μmol (348 TONs) by the WPTZ2 dye.

Nanoforest-like CdS/TiO2 heterostructure composites: Synthesis and photoelectrochemical application**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51272086 and 11704004), the Technology Development Program of Jilin Province, China (Grant No. 20130206078GX), and the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province, China (Grant No. 1808085QA20).

In this study, TiO2 nanoforest films consisting of nanotubes have been synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method and a subsequent sintering technique. The hydrothermal reaction time is important for the controlling of the nanotube diameter and the specific surface area of holistic TiO2 films. When the hydrothermal process reaction time is up to 8 hours, the diameter of the nanotube is about 10 nm, and the specific surface area of TiO2 nanoforest films reaches the maximum. CdS nanoparticles are synthesized on TiO2 nanoforest films by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) mapping results verify that TiO2/CdS heterostructures are realized. A significant red-shift of the absorption edge from 380 nm to 540 nm can be observed after the pure TiO2 film is sensitized by CdS nanoparticles. Under irradiation of light, the current density of the optimal TiO2/CdS photoanode is 2.30 mA⋅cm−2 at 0 V relative to the saturated calomel electrode (SCE), which is 6 times stronger than that of the pure TiO2 photoanode. This study suggests that the TiO2 nanoforest consisting of interlinked pony-size nanotubes is a promising nanostructure for photoelectrochemical.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer of CaF2: Eu2+, Tb3+ applied to dye-sensitized solar cells

CaF2: Eu2+, Tb3+ introduced into dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were studied to examine the influence of luminescent materials on photoanodes using a simple method. The emission spectra of CaF2: Eu2+, Tb3+ included the blue light of Eu2+ (4f → 5d) at 430 nm and green emission of Tb3+ (5D4 → 7F5) at 542 nm under the monitoring wavelengths at 398 nm, which matched well the absorption range of the N719 dye in DSSCs. Energy transfer (ET) was verified between Eu2+ and Tb3+ ions and the efficiency of ET found to increase with Tb3+ concentration. Both the fluorescence resonance and luminescence-mediated ETs between phosphor and N719 dye were observed as the main contribution in improving photocurrent and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of these DSSCs. The PCE of DSSCs doped with phosphors was greatly increased by 5.16, to 43.3%, which was comparable to cells made of pure TiO2 photoanodes. Moreover, CaF2: Eu2+, Tb3+ enlarged the surface area of TiO2 photonaodes, which helped the adsorption performance of the TiO2 film.

Effect of nanoporous In2O3 film fabricated on TiO2-In2O3 photoanode for photovoltaic performance via a sparking method

A simple and inexpensive sparking method was used to deposit body-centered cubic In2O3 film on TiO2 photoanode for 30–180 min for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The effect of nanoporous In2O3 film on photovoltaic performance was investigated. The efficiency of TiO2-In2O3 photoanode with the sparking time for 120 min was the highest of 3.40 and 8.6% rise in conversion efficiency comparing to the TiO2 photoanode device, due to the increasing in short-circuit current density (Jsc) and electron lifetime (Teff). In this research, Jsc improvement was caused by increasing surface area for adsorbed dye molecules. TiO2-In2O3 photoanode exhibited low resistance of charge diffusion (Rct1) at the interface of the redox electrolyte/Pt counter electrode and/or electrical contact between In2O3 nanoparticles by providing an efficient pathway for photogenerated electrons in the DSSCs. Furthermore, the long-term stability of DSSCs showed that TiO2-In2O3 photoanode with 120 min sparking period exhibited the highest efficiency comparing with the pure TiO2 photoanode.

Effect of Graphene/TiO₂ Composite Layer on the Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

Graphene has attracted a lot of attention because of its unique mechanical, thermal, electrical and optical properties. In this study, a double layered structured photoanode consisting of a graphene/TiO2 composite layer and a TiO2 nanoparticles (P25) underlayer was developed. The photoelectric properties of as-prepared double layer structured photoanode were studied with comparison of the anatase TiO2 photoanode. Graphene was prepared by reduction of graphene oxide (GO) under a hydrothermal conditions and graphenen/TiO2 composite semiconductor materials were prepared by mixing graphene into TiO2 paste. The effect of graphene contents in graphene/TiO2 composite layer was also investigated. After constructing double layer photoanode with proper amount of graphene, the photoanode displayed enhanced light and dye adsorption properties with higher light harvesting efficiency, lower internal resistances, faster electron transport and lower charge recombination rate, which resulted in high current density. At the optimum conditions, the DSSC exhibited a Jsc of 15.01 mA cm-2, a Voc of 0.72 V, and a FF of 0.66 with the energy conversion efficiency (η) of 7.08%, indicating a increase in Jsc and η respectively than that of DSSC based on pure TiO2 photoanode, which gives a Jsc of 13.25 mA cm-2, a Voc of 0.73 V, and a FF of 0.62 with a η of 5.94%. However, the addition of excess graphene in the composite layer led to the enhancement of charge recombination, the reduction of dye adsorption and the decrease of photoelectric conversion efficiency of DSSCs. The graphene/TiO2 composite layer in DSSCs could really enhance its efficiency after the amount of graphene was successfully optimized.

Enhanced photovoltaic performance of a dye sensitized solar cell with Cu/N Co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles

Pure and Copper/Nitrogen (Cu/N)-codoped TiO2 photoanodes with various Cu concentrations are prepared via sol–gel route for the photoanode application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). All the prepared samples are characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), UV–Vis spectroscopy (UV–VIS) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). Addition of suitable amount of Cu and N content in TiO2 can alter its optical and electrical properties by extending absorption in the visible region and band gap reduction. The results show that some of the Ti sites are replaced by Cu atoms while O sites are occupied by N atoms. Upon adequate addition of Cu/N could lead to smaller particle size, higher specific surface area, increased dye adsorption and retarded charge carrier recombination. A significant improvement in the power conversion efficiency is observed in case of optimized 0.3 mol% Cu/N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) based DSSC. This optimized 0.3 mol% Cu/N-doped photoanode accomplished a best power conversion efficiency of 11.70% with a short circuit current density of 23.41 mA cm−2 which is 41% higher than that of the pure TiO2 photoanode based DSSC (6.82%).

Enhanced performance of dye sensitized solar cells by using a reduced graphene oxide/TiO2 blocking layer in the photoanode

A reduced graphene oxide/TiO2 (RGO/TiO2) blocking layer in the photoanode of a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) was fabricated in a simple way by depositing a RGO/TiO2 paste onto a FTO substrate through screen printing method. The RGO content in the RGO/TiO2 blocking layer was optimized for better DSSC performance. The effect of the RGO/TiO2 blocking layer on the performance of the DSSC was examined based on the electrochemical impedance spectral analysis, the photocurrent-voltage measurement, and the open-circuit voltage decay technology. After the introduction of RGO/TiO2 blocking layer in the photoanode, direct contact between the electrolyte and the FTO glass surface was prevented. The electron transfer from the TiO2 film to the FTO glass substrate was thus improved, the charge recombination rate suppressed, the electron transport rate enhanced, and the electron collection efficiency increased, resulting in higher current density. At the best level of RGO in the composite blocking layer, the DSSC has an energy conversion efficiency (η) of 7.48% with a Jsc of 15.29 mA cm−2, a Voc of 0.74 V and a FF of 0.66, indicating a 29% and a 30% increase in Jsc and η, respectively, compared to that of a DSSC based on pure TiO2 photoanode, which exhibits a η value of 5.76% with a Jsc of 11.85mAcm−2, a Voc of 0.74V, and a FF of 0.66. The introduction of the RGO/TiO2 blocking layer in the photoanode could really enhance the efficiency of DSSC by preventing the direct contact between the electrolyte and the FTO glass surface.

Enhanced performance of dye-sensitized solar cells with layered structure graphitic carbon nitride and reduced graphene oxide modified TiO2 photoanodes

TiO2/reduced graphene oxide (TiO2/rGO) composite has been widely exploited as the photoanode material for high efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). However, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) is limited due to the charge recombination between the rGO and electrolyte. In this paper, we incorporate 5.5wt% layered structure graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and 0.25wt% rGO into TiO2 nanoparticle (NP) film to form a triple-component TiO2/rGO/g-C3N4 (TGC) photoanode for DSSCs. The TGC photoanode significantly increased the dye absorption and thus to improve the light harvesting efficiency. Furthermore, the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis of the DSSCs based on TGC photoanode demonstrates that the incorporation of the rGO and g-C3N4 into TiO2 effectively accelerates the electron transfer and reduces the charge recombination. As a result, the DSSCs based on TGC film show PCE of 5.83%, enhanced by 50.1% compared with that of pure TiO2 photoanodes. This result strongly suggests a facile strategy to improve the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs.

Electrospun ytterbium and europium ions co-doped stannic oxide nanofibers and application in dye-sensitized solar cells

Ytterbium and europium ions co-doped stannic oxide nanofibers (SYE NFs) are prepared by a simple electrospun method, which are applied in the photoanode for the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Comparing to the pure TiO2 photoanode, the TiO2 photoanode with SYE NFs demonstrates a broadened light absorption range and an enhanced electrons transport rate. The DSSC based on the TiO2 photoanode with SYE NFs achieves a greatly improved short-circuit current density, leading to an enhanced photoelectric conversion efficiency of 8.74% under full sunlight illumination (100mWcm−2, AM 1.5G), which is almost 20.89% higher than that of the DSSC based on the pure TiO2 photoanode without SYE NFs (7.23%). Moreover, the novel strategy of preparation SYE NFs is an universal method to adjust rare-earth species to achieve other materials with up- or down-conversion functions.

Plasmonic enhancement of the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells by incorporating TiO2 nanotubes decorated with Au nanoparticles

The TiO2 nanotubes (TNT) are synthesized and decorated with Au nanoparticles, forming a TNT-Au composite. This TNT-Au composite is incorporated into a TiO2 nanocrystalline film to form a multifunctional composite photoanode and the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The influences of different amounts of TNT-Au on the performance of the multifunctional composite photoanodes and DSSCs are investigated. Studies indicate that, the introduction of TNT-Au improves remarkably the transport rate of electrons, enhances the ability of photoanode to scatter and capture incident light, reduces the charge transfer resistance, and thereby improves significantly the short-circuit current density (Jsc) and photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of the DSSCs. The maximal Jsc of 14.72 mA cm−2 and PCE of 6.94% are obtained in the optimal DSSC with 10 wt% TNT-Au, significantly higher than those of the DSSC with pure TiO2 photoanode by 24.3% and 21.8%, respectively. These remarkable improvement in the properties of the DSSCs can be attributed to the strong scattering of TNT for incident light, fast charge transfer of TNT due to their unique one dimensional hollow structure, and the surface plasmon resonance of Au nanoparticles, in a tri-synergistic and complementary fashion.

SWCNT-TiO2 Nanocomposite Photo-Anode for Improved Thermal Performances of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

In this study, we report a novel single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-TiO2 composite photoanode with enhanced thermal conductivity for photovoltaic applications. Thermal chemical vapor deposition technique was used for the growth of high quality SWCNTs. Structural and morphological properties of as synthesized SWCNT and SWCNT-TiO2 composites were inspected using ultra-high resolution transmission electron microscope (UHRTEM) and Raman spectroscopy. Thermal conductivity of pure titania (TiO2) and SWCNT-TiO2 composites were estimated by an optothermal method. Photovoltaic performance of Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) containing composite photoanodes was studied at various temperatures (ranging from room temperature-323K). We observed a notable decline in the overall photovoltaic performance of the DSSC containing pure TiO2 photoanode at elevated temperatures. Whereas, DSSC with composite photoanodes showed a significant improvement in overall photovoltaic performance consistently at room temperature as well as at elevated temperatures that is believed to be due to the existence of SWCNT and provides a conducting pathway to electrons in trap states and which are released at higher temperature and thus, quench recombination more effectively.

Enhanced visible light absorption and reduced charge recombination in AgNP plasmonic photoelectrochemical cell

In this research work, silver nanoparticles (AgNP) were synthesized using a simple solvothermal technique, the obtained AgNP were used to prepare a titania/silver (TiO2/Ag) nanocomposites with varied amount of Ag contents and used to fabricated a photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to ascertain the presence of silver in the nanocomposite. A photoluminance (PL) spectra of the nanocomposite powder shows a low PL activity which indicates a reduced election- hole recombination within the material. UV–vis spectra reveal that the Ag in the DSSC photoanode enhances the light absorption of the solar cell device within the visible range between λ=382nm and 558nmnm owing to its surface plasmon resonance effect. Power conversion efficiency was enhanced from 4.40% for the pure TiO2 photoanode based device to 6.56% for the device fabricated with TiO2/Ag due to the improvement of light harvesting caused by the localized surface plasmonic resonance effect of AgNP. The improvement of power conversion was also achieved due to the reduced charge recombination within the photoanode.

Boosting the power conversion efficiency of quantum dot sensitized solar cells via g-C3N4 modified TiO2 nanoparticles

In spite of the great development in quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs), enrichment of material system of QDSSCs is still imperial mission for further advances. In this report, two-dimensional graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) prepared from urea was applied to modify porous TiO2 photoanodes, followed by the deposition of CdS and CdSe QDs as sensitizers. In the as-prepared photoanodes, g-C3N4 functioned as barrier for retarding electron backward recombination and assisted to strengthen light absorption. Compared with the pure TiO2 photoanode, the photoelectrical behaviors of g-C3N4 modified TiO2 photoanode were obviously improved. By optimizing the loading amount of g-C3N4, the champion performance was achieved at 15% addition amount of g-C3N4 with shortcircuit current density of 15.1 mA cm−2, open circuit voltage of 0.56 V, and energy conversion efficiency of 4.14% under AM 1.5 illumination. The improvement in cell performance was attributed to the type II alignment between g-C3N4 and TiO2, which induced the fast separation of photogenerated carriers. The transfer of the photogenerated electrons and holes is driven by the conduction band offset of 0.39 eV and the valence band offset of 0.86 eV, respectively. Present results provided a new insight for further optimum photoanode structures of QDSSCs.

SWCNT-TiO2 Nanocomposite Photo-Anode for Improved Thermal Performances of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

In this study, we report a novel single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-TiO2 composite photoanode with enhanced thermal conductivity for photovoltaic applications. Thermal chemical vapor deposition technique was used for the growth of high quality SWCNTs. Structural and morphological properties of as synthesized SWCNT and SWCNT-TiO2 composites were inspected using ultra-high resolution transmission electron microscope (UHRTEM) and Raman spectrosctopy. Thermal conductivity of pure titania (TiO2) and SWCNT-TiO2 composites were estimated by an optothermal method. Photovoltaic performance of Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) containing composite photoanodes was studied at various temperatures (ranging from room temperature-323K). We observed a notable decline in the overall photovoltaic performance of the DSSC containing pure TiO2 photoanode at elevated temperatures. Whereas, DSSC with composite photoanodes showed a significant improvement in overall photovoltaic performance consistently at room temperature as well as at elevated temperatures that is believed to be due to the existence of SWCNT and provides a conducting pathway to electrons in trap states and which are released at higher temperature and thus, quench recombination more effectively.

Enhanced photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on Co9S8 nanotube array counter electrode and TiO2/g-C3N4 heterostructure nanosheet photoanode

High-performance dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are for the first time reported based on rationally designing g-C3N4 modified TiO2 nanosheets as photoanodes and Co9S8 nanotube arrays (ANTAs) as counter electrodes (CEs). The coupling of g-C3N4 with TiO2 to form a heterojunction extends optical response behavior of TiO2 to visible-light region, and simultaneously restrains the recombination rate of photogenerated charges, thus greatly enhances the photovoltaic performance of TiO2 DSSCs. The smaller electron transport resistance of DSSCs based on TiO2/g-C3N4 photoanodes indicates higher charge transfer ability. Compared with Pt CE, Co9S8 ANTAs CEs show higher electrocatalytic ability towards I−/I3− reaction. It can be proved by cyclic voltammetry and Tafel polarization techniques, which show higher anodic and cathodic peak current density. Longer carrier lifetime is observed for DSSCs based on Co9S8 ANTAs CEs and TiO2/g-C3N4 photoanodes, which indicate the decrease of the combination of the injected electrons with the I3− ions in the electrolyte. DSSCs based on Co9S8 ANTAs CEs and TiO2/g-C3N4 photoanodes show a power conversion efficiency of 8.07%, much higher that of pure TiO2 photoanode.