Conduction Band Edge Of TiO2 Research Articles

Control of open circuit voltage by base treatment of photoelectrode surface in solar cells

ABSTRACTWe investigated effects of conjugate bases as surface modifiers on the photovoltage of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). TiO2 films were soaked in aqueous solutions containing PO43−, CO32− and C2O42− ions to prepare Ph-TiO2/FTO, Ca-TiO2/FTO and Ox-TiO2/FTO electrodes, respectively. For a reference cell, Wa-TiO2/FTO electrode treated with pure water (H2O) was also prepared. With increasing basicity of the surface modifiers, open circuit voltage (Voc) of DSSCs with the surface-modified photoelectrodes was improved in the order of Ph-TiO2/FTO ≈ Ca-TiO2/FTO > Ox-TiO2/FTO > Wa-TiO2/FTO. Dark current measurements revealed that the enhancements in Voc were attributed to a negative shift of conduction band edge of TiO2 by base treatment such as PO43−, CO32− and C2O42−.

Analysis of Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation on Rutile TiO2(110)

Photocatalytic nitrogen fixation provides a promising route to produce reactive nitrogen compounds at benign conditions. Titania has been reported as an active photocatalyst for reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia; however there is little fundamental understanding of how this process occurs. In this work the rutile (110) model surface is hypothesized to be the active site, and a computational model based on the Bayesian error estimation functional (BEEF-vdW) and computational hydrogen electrode is applied in order to analyze the expected dinitrogen coverage at the surface as well as the overpotentials for electrochemical reduction and oxidation. This is the first application of computational techniques to photocatalytic nitrogen fixation, and the results indicate that the thermodynamic limiting potential for nitrogen reduction on rutile (110) is considerably higher than the conduction band edge of rutile TiO2, even at oxygen vacancies and iron substitutions. This work provides strong evidence against the m...

RF sputtered CdS films as independent or buffered electron transport layer for efficient planar perovskite solar cell

Metal sulfide has the potential to take the place of high temperature sintered TiO2 as electron transportation layer for perovskite solar cell (PSC) with improved light stability and suppressed hysteresis. In this work, CdS films were used as independent or buffered electron transport layer for planar perovskite solar cell by a low-temperature RF sputtering method for the first time. The effects of surface roughness and optical absorption of CdS films on the photovoltaic performance of PSCs were discussed. The PSC with sputtered CdS film shows a higher open-circuit voltage (Voc) and efficiency of 13.17% than high temperature sintered TiO2 ETL (12.71%). Moreover, a RF sputtered CdS buffer layer between TiO2 and perovskite could tune the conduction band edge of TiO2 and perovskite and passivating the surface defects. Time resolved photoluminescence results indicate the RF sputtered CdS film buffer layer could accelerate charge transportation and a higher conversion efficiency over 16% has thus been achieved, with enhanced air stability and minimized hysteresis. These findings offer new research directions for low-temperature sputtered metal sulfide film as a promising electron transport material for stable and high efficient planar perovskite solar cell.

NH2-rich silica nanoparticle as a universal additive in electrolytes for high-efficiency quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells and quantum dot sensitized solar cells

In this paper, a novel kind of functional NH2-rich silica nanoparticle (A-SiO2) as an electrolyte additive is reported, which is employed to assemble high-efficiency quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) and quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSCs), while the additional solidifying character of A-SiO2 makes it superior to the common additives. It is found that the A-SiO2 nanoparticle as an additive for ionic-liquid electrolyte can significantly improve the photovoltaic performance of quasi-solid-state DSCs, especially the open-circuit photovoltage (Voc) and fill factor (FF) through (1) negatively shifting the TiO2 conduction band (CB) edge, (2) effectively facilitating the ions transport and (3) remarkably inhibiting the charge recombination. Notably, DSC fabricated using the A-SiO2 based ionic-liquid gel electrolytes achieves a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.30% under 1 sun illumination (AM 1.5 G, 100 mW cm−2), which is higher than that of DSC with the ionic-liquid electrolyte employing N-methylbenzimidazole (NMBI) and Guanidinium thiocyanate (GuNCS) as additives (PCE = 6.23%). Moreover, the A-SiO2 additive is of the universality in organic electrolytes for DSCs and polysulfide electrolytes for QDSCs. The PCE of CdS/CdSe co-sensitized QDSCs using A-SiO2 additives is improved by 34.9% due to the enhancement of short-circuit current density (Jsc) and Voc, resulting in a champion PCE of 7.11%, which is one of the best results for CdS/CdSe co-sensitized QDSCs.

Synergic effects of CuxO electron transfer co-catalyst and valence band edge control over TiO2 for efficient visible-light photocatalysis

Bandgap engineering by doping and co-catalyst loading are two primary approaches to designing efficient photocatalysts by promoting visible-light absorption and charge separation, respectively. Shifting of the TiO2 conduction band edge is frequently applied to increase visible-light absorption but also lowers the reductive properties of photo-excited electrons. Herein, we report a visible-light-driven photocatalyst based on valance band edge control induced by oxygen excess defects and modification with a CuxO electron transfer co-catalyst. The CuxO grafted oxygen-rich TiO2 microspheres were prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis of the peroxotitanate precursor followed by a wet chemical impregnated treatment. We found that oxygen excess defects in TiO2 shifted the valence band maximum upward and improved the visible-light absorption. The CuxO grafted onto the surface acted as a co-catalyst that efficiently reduced oxygen molecules to active intermediates (i.e., O2·– radial and H2O2), thus consuming the photo-generated electrons. Consequently, the CuxO grafted oxygen-rich TiO2 microspheres achieved a photocatalytic activity respectively 8.6, 13.0 and 11.0 as times high as those of oxygen-rich TiO2, normal TiO2 and CuxO grafted TiO2, for degradation of gaseous acetaldehyde under visible-light irradiation. Our results suggest that high visible-light photocatalytic efficiency can be achieved by combining oxygen excess defects to improve visible-light absorption together with a CuxO electron transfer co-catalyst. These findings provide a new approach to developing efficient heterojunction photocatalysts.

Surface NH2-rich nanoparticles: Solidifying ionic-liquid electrolytes and improving the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells

The surface properties of nanoparticles have a significant influence on the properties of the gel electrolytes. Herein, the surface NH2-rich nanoparticle (A-SiO2), with a tightening network, is synthesized by silanizing SiO2 nanoparticles with pre-polymerized aminopropyltriethoxysilane, which is further employed to prepare ionic-liquid gel electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells. The addition of a small amount of A-SiO2 can effectively solidify the ionic-liquid, whereas a large number of NH2 groups on the SiO2 surface leads to a large negative shift of the TiO2 conduction band edge, and can react with I3− in the form of a Lewis complex, resulting in an increase in the concentration of I− and a decrease in the concentration of I3− in the electrolyte. In addition, the ionic-liquid gel electrolyte possesses thixotropic behavior, which allows it to easily penetrate into the inner part of the TiO2 mesoporous film. As a result, large improvements of the photovoltage from 695 mV to 785 mV and of the photocurrent from 13.3 mA cm−2 to 14.9 mA cm−2 are achieved. This leads to significant enhancement of the power conversion efficiency, from 6.2% to 8.1%, for the cell with A-SiO2 compared to that of the pristine ionic-liquid electrolyte.

Molecular Control of the Band Edge Movement and the Recombination Process in Donor–Acceptor Hemicyanine-Sensitized Solar Cells

The presence of downward shift in the band edge and the recombination reactions in the hemicyanine-sensitized solar cell reduces the open-circuit potential (VOC) and the short-circuit current density (JSC), which in turn decreases the dye cell performance. Choosing either an electrolyte possessing minimum overpotentials or a systematic dye design which can efficiently suppress the diffusion of charged species toward the TiO2 can improve the overall power conversion efficiency (PCE). Here, a series of donor–acceptor (D-A) hemicyanine dyes were synthesized utilizing a planar heterotriangulene (HT) or triphenylamine (TPA) donor and alkyl-functionalized indolium carboxylic acid acceptor unit. By introducing strong HT donor instead of TPA, the photophysical, and electrochemical properties of D-A dyes are significantly modulated. The strong donor nature of HT and effective passivation of surface by hydrophobic alkyl chains close to the anchoring group for NC3 dye exhibits an average PCE of 4.34% with a VOC of 0.416 V, JSC of 20.04 mA cm–2, and fill factor (ff) of 52.03% under simulated AM 1.5G illumination (100 mW cm–2) without 3α,7α-dihydroxy-5β-cholic acid coadsorbent (CDCA). The intrinsic dipole of the hemicyanine dye and the presence of Li+ ions in iodide/triiodide redox couple without tert-butylpyridine (TBP) additive induces a downward shift in conduction band edge (ECB) of TiO2. By rational molecular design, the extend of shift in ECB is controlled and enhanced the VOC. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies revealed the high charge transfer resistance (Rct) and long lifetime (τ) of injected electrons in HT-based dyes than that of TPA derivatives, which provide insight into the passivation of Li+ and I– ions by current D-A dye design possessing alkyl functionalities to increase both the JSC and VOC.

Effect of the self-assembled gel network formed from a low molecular mass organogelator on the electron kinetics in quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

A low molecular mass organogelator (LMOG), N , N ¢ -1,5-pentanediylbis-dodecanamide, was applied to quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (QS-DSSCs). The crosslinked gel network was self-assemblied by the LOMG in the liquid electrolyte, and the in situ assembly process of gelator can be obtained by the polarized optical microscopy (POM). On one hand, the network hinders the diffusion of redox species and accelerates the electron recombination at the interface of the TiO2 photoanode/electrolyte. On the other hand, Li+ can interact with the amide carbonyl groups of the gelators and the adsorption of Li+ onto the TiO2 surface decreases, leading to a negative shift of the TiO2 conduction band edge, accelerated electron transport and decreased electron injection efficiency ( η inj) of QS-DSSC. As a result, the incidental photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE), the short circuit photocurrent density ( J sc) and the open circuit voltage ( V oc) of the QS-DSSC are decreased compared with those of the liquid electrolyte based DSSC (L-DSSC), which indicates that the electron recombination plays a great role in the photovoltaic performances of DSSC. Remarkably, the QS-DSSC exhibits excellent thermal and light-soaking stabilities during accelerated aging tests for 1000 h, which is attributed to a great intrinsic stability of the gel electrolyte with a high gel to solution transition temperature ( T gel = 108°C).

Semiconductor Quantum Dot Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Ferricyanide/Ferrocyanide Redox Electrolyte Reaching an Open Circuit Photovoltage of 0.8 V.

Semiconductor quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) have rapidly been developed, and their efficiency has recently exceeded 9%. Their performances have mainly been achieved by focusing on improving short circuit photocurrent employing polysulfide electrolytes. However, the increase of open circuit photovoltage (VOC) cannot be expected with QDSSCs based on the polysulfide electrolytes owing to their relatively negative redox potential (around -0.65 V vs Ag/AgCl). Here, we demonstrate enhancement of the open circuit voltage by employing an alternative electrolyte, ferricyanide/ferrocyanide redox couple. The solar cell performance was optimized by investigating the influence of ferricyanide and ferrocyanide concentration on their interfacial charge transfer and transport kinetics. The optimized ferricyanide/ferrocyanide species concentrations (0.01/0.2 M) result in solar energy conversion efficiency of 2% with VOC of 0.8 V. Since the potential difference between the TiO2 conduction band edge at pH 7 and the electrolyte redox potential is about 0.79 V, although the conduction band edge shifts negatively under the negative bias application into the TiO2 electrode, the solar cell with the optimized electrolyte composition has nearly reached the theoretical maximum voltage. This study suggests a promising method to optimize an electrolyte composition for maximizing solar energy conversion efficiency.

Slow Relaxation of Surface Plasmon Excitations in Au55: The Key to Efficient Plasmonic Heating in Au/TiO2.

Gold nanoparticles distinguish themselves from other nanoparticles due to their unique surface plasmon resonance properties that can be exploited for a multiplicity of applications. The promise of plasmonic heating in systems of Au nanoparticles on transition metal oxide supports, for example, Au/TiO2, rests with the ability of the surface plasmon in Au nanoparticles to effectively transfer energy into the transition metal oxide. Here, we report a critical observation regarding Au nanoparticle (Au55) surface plasmon excitations, that is, the relaxation of the surface plasmon excitation is very slow, on the order of several picoseconds. Starting from five plasmon states in Au55 nanoparticles using nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations, we find that the relaxation time constant resulting from these simulations is ∼6.8 ps, mainly resulting from a long-lived intermediate state found at around -0.8 eV. This long-lived intermediate state aligns with the conduction band edge of TiO2, thereby facilitating energy transfer injection from the Au55 nanoparticle into the TiO2. The current results rule out the previously reported molecular-like relaxation dynamics for Au55.

Effects of 2-hexylthiophene on the performance of triphenylamine based organic dye for dye-sensitized solar cells

Inspired from the structure of Ru-complex dye C101, the 2-hexylthiophene moieties were introduced to the triphenylamine unit of dye L1 for dye L101as an attempt to enhance the donor capacity and achieve high overall power conversion efficiency (η). Finally, these two sensitizers were applied to Dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs), and their photovoltaic performance were further investigated through spectral, electrochemical, photovoltaic measurements. The η of L101 is 5.1% (Voc=724mV, Jsc=9.24mAcm−2, FF=0.76, εmaxabs=44.4×103M−1cm−1) which is higher than L1 (η=4.7%, Voc=712mV, Jsc=8.79mAcm−2, FF=0.75, εmaxabs=23.3×103M−1cm−1). This slight enhancement is mainly attributed to two reasons: firstly, the light-harvesting capacity is enhanced when introducing hexylthiophene moieties to the triphenylamine donor unit of L1 and contributed to a larger Jsc. Secondly, the introduced 2-hexylthiophene moieties improve the conduction band edge of TiO2 which result in the higher Voc of L101 than L1. These results demonstrate that the introduced 2-hexylthiophene moieties could help to achieve better performance.

Decreasing Charge Losses in Perovskite Solar Cells Through mp-TiO2/MAPI Interface Engineering

On the basis of our experience in controlling the recombination kinetics in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) by modifying the mesoporous TiO2 (mp-TiO2) interface, we modified the methylammonium lead iodide (MAPI) /mp-TiO2 interface with a nanoscopic layer of insulating Al2O3. The effects on device efficiency, the open-circuit voltage (Voc), device reproducibility, and the relationship between the increase in Voc, and the presence of the Al2O3 layer is thoroughly discussed and explained. Although in DSSC there is a TiO2 conduction band edge shift for Al2O3 coated mp-TiO2 films, in MAPI perovskite solar cells the charge vs voltage measurements carried out under sun-simulated irradiation conditions show a negligible shift of the exponential charge distribution whether it is measured using PICE (Photo Induced Charge Extraction) or PIDC (Photo Induced Differential Charging). Furthermore, the charge recombination lifetime decreases considerably in the Al2O3-treated samples, which improves the overall efficienc...

Metal-Organic Frameworks as Promising Photosensitizers for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting.

Ti-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are demonstrated as promising photosensitizers for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Photocurrents of TiO2 nano wire photoelectrodes can be improved under visible light through sensitization with aminated Ti-based MOFs. As a host, other sensitizers or catalysts such as Au nanoparticles can be incorporated into the MOF layer thus further improving the PEC water splitting efficiency.

Enhancing Electron Injection in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells by Adopting W6+‐Doped TiO2 Nanowires: A Theoretical Study

AbstractAs a donor type dopant in titanium dioxide, W6+ was found to move the conduction band (CB) edge of TiO2 downward and also to influence the electron‐injection process in dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). To investigate the electron‐injection capabilities of DSSCs and to optimize their efficiency by W6+ doping, the geometry and electronic properties of both free and adsorbed TiO2 nanowires were investigated on the basis of extensive density functional theory calculations. A four‐layer (TiO2)12 nanowire with 12 possible doping sites was set up, and the effect of W6+ in different positions was analyzed. The results indicate that in the W6+‐doped (TiO2)12 systems, the Ti–OW (OW = oxygen atom that is connected to the W atom) bonds are longer than the corresponding Ti–O bonds in (TiO2)12. The CB edge is significantly influenced by the doping position. The CB energy level moves upward gradually as doped W6+ moves deep into (TiO2)12. For all adsorbed catechol/(TiO2)12 systems with the W6+ dopant, the LUMO maps are distributed over the layer in which W6+ is doped. The W6+ doping position plays a crucial role in the electron‐injection and electron‐transport process in DSSCs. Therefore, different positions of W6+ doping in TiO2 would be a feasible strategy to control and improve semiconductor materials to obtain DSSCs with more efficient electron injection.

Multicolor and near-infrared electroluminescence from the light-emitting devices with rare-earth doped TiO2 films

We report on multicolor and near-infrared electroluminescence (EL) from the devices using rare-earth doped TiO2 (TiO2:RE) films as light-emitting layers, which are ascribed to the impact excitation of RE3+ ions, with the EL onset voltages below 10 V. The devices are in the structure of ITO/TiO2:RE/SiO2/Si, in which the SiO2 layer is ∼10 nm thick and RE includes Eu, Er, Tm, Nd, and so on. With sufficiently high positive voltage applied on the ITO electrode, the conduction electrons in Si can tunnel into the conduction band of SiO2 layer via the trap-assisted tunneling mechanism, gaining the potential energy ∼4 eV higher than the conduction band edge of TiO2. Therefore, as the electrons in the SiO2 layer drift into the TiO2:RE layer, they become hot electrons. Such hot electrons impact-excite the RE3+ ions incorporated into the TiO2 host, leading to the characteristic emissions.

Photocatalytic Applications of Electrospun TiO2 Nanofibres Embedded with Bimodal Sized and Prismatic Gold Nanoparticles.

In this paper, we have synthesized electrospun TiO2 nanofibers embedded with bimodal sized and prismatic gold nanoparticles. The surface plasmons generated in the gold nanoparticles were used to enhance the performance of photocatalysis. The photocatalytic conversion efficiencies of these bimodal sized/prismatic gold nanoparticles when embedded in electrospun TiO2 fibres showed an enhancement of upto 60% over bare fiber systems and also show higher efficiencies than electrospun fibrous systems embedded with unimodal sized gold nanoparticles. Anisotropic bimodal gold nanoparticles show the highest degree of photocatalytic activity. This may be attributed to greater density/concentration of nanoparticles with higher effective surface area and formation of a junction between the smaller and larger nanoparticles. Such a bimodally distributed range of nanoparticles could also lead to greater trapping of charge carriers at the TiO2 conduction band edge and promoting catalytic reactions on account of these trapped charges. This enhanced photocatalytic activity is explained by invoking different operating mechanisms such as improved surface area, greater trapping, coarse plasmon resonance and band effects. Thus, a useful applicability of the gold nanoparticles is shown in the area of photocatalysis.

Effect of carboxyl anchoring groups in asymmetric zinc phthalocyanine with large steric hindrance on the dye-sensitized solar cell performance

Asymmetric zinc phthalocyanines containing tribenzonaphtho-condensed porphyrazine with six bulky diphenylphenoxy and one or two carboxyl groups are used as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). It is found that Zn-tri-PcNc-4 having two carboxyl groups shows a slight redshift in the Q-band absorption but a significantly decreased absorbance as compared with Zn-tri-PcNc-8 having one carboxyl group, and Zn-tri-PcNc-4 can be more stably and perpendicularly grafted onto the TiO2 surface than Zn-tri-PcNc-8, which further leads to the differences in the interfacial charge transfer dynamics and dye-loaded amount. Zn-tri-PcNc-4 with two carboxyl groups grafted onto the TiO2 electrode surface of DSSC results in a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 3.22%, higher than that (3.01%) of the analog with one carboxyl group (Zn-tri-PcNc-8), which exhibits a lower short-circuit current but much higher open-circuit voltage. The additional carboxyl group in Zn-tri-PcNc-4 leads to the enhanced dye-loaded amount and the molecular orbital energy level shift toward positive direction, causing more efficient electron injection and higher short-circuit current than Zn-tri-PcNc-8; while the two carboxyl groups of Zn-tri-PcNc-4 would cause more protonation of TiO2 surface, which possibly leads to the downward shift of TiO2 conduction band edge, and then to the decreased open-circuit voltage. The present results demonstrate the molecular engineering aspect of ZnPc dyes in which the fine tuning of the energy levels and molecular structures is crucial for high conversion efficiency of DSSCs.

Hysteresis-less mesoscopic CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite hybrid solar cells by introduction of Li-treated TiO2 electrode

A great current density–voltage (J–V) hysteresis with respect to the scan direction is important issue in perovskite hybrid solar cells because the power conversion efficiency is sometimes incorrect. Here, we demonstrated >17% mesoscopic CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) perovskite hybride solar cells without significant J–V hysteresis with respective to the scan direction and rated by using Li-treated mesoscopic TiO2 electrode. The Li-treated mesoscopic TiO2 electrode improved charge separation/injection from MAPbI3 into mesoscopic TiO2, charge transport in mesoscopic TiO2, and surface traps because the conduction band edge of mesoscopic TiO2 was lowered by ~0.1eV, the mobility of charge carriers was increased from ~1.1×10−6cm2/Vs to ~2.5×10−6cm2/Vs, the conductivity of mesoscopic TiO2 was increased from ~5.6×10−7S/cm to ~1.6×10−6S/cm, and the trap density was reduced from ~1.2×1016cm−3 to ~9.3×1015cm−3 through Li-treatment. Therefore, the average power conversion efficiency was significantly enhanced from 14.84% to 17.26% at 1sun condition by the Li-treatment of mesoscopic TiO2.

Energy Level Alignment at Titanium Oxide–Dye Interfaces: Implications for Electron Injection and Light Harvesting

We have performed density functional theory calculations to describe the changes in the electronic structure of oligothiophene derivatives equipped with carboxylic acid anchoring groups upon chemical grafting on TiO2 clusters. The adsorption promotes a partial pinning effect for the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the dye, i.e., a LUMO energy level alignment with respect to the TiO2 conduction band edge (CBE) irrespective of the oligothiophene length, which we ascribe to a strong hybridization between the dye discrete (LUMO) level and the cluster conduction band (CB). This is borne out by the fact that no pinning is observed, when decoupling the conjugated segment from the metal oxide substrate, e.g., by introducing a phenylene (PTn-Ph) or vinylene phenylene (PTn-Vi-Ph) moiety in a meta configuration or when there is a large energy mismatch between the dye frontier levels and the oxide conduction band, as is the case for oligothiophene-S,S-dioxides (with LUMO levels deep below the oxide CBE). Implications for electron injection into the titania and the optical absorption properties of the oxide–dye hybrids are discussed.

Effect of alkyl chain length of imidazolium cations on the electron transport and recombination kinetics in ionic gel electrolytes based quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

A series of stable quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (QS-DSSCs) are prepared by the 12-hydroxystearicacid as low molecular mass organogelator (LMOG) to gelate the ionic liquid with different alkyl chain lengths (3, 4, and 7). The influence of alkyl chain length of imidazolium cations (Im+) on the kinetic processes of electron transport and recombination are investigated by Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy/intensity-modulated photovoltage spectroscopy (IMPS/IMVS). It is found that the ionic gel electrolytes (IGEs) with different alkyl chain lengths of Im+ can influence the competitive adsorption effects of imidazolium cations (Im+) and Li+, and further affect the charge diffusion, the electron recombination/transport processes, the shift of TiO2 conduction band edge and surface states distribution. The IGE with longer alkyl chain length of Im+ can prolong the electron recombination lifetime, promote the incidental photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) and the short circuit photocurrent density (Jsc). An excellent QS-DSSC based on the IGE with the longer alkyl chain of Im+ gives the highest photoelectric conversion efficiency. Moreover, all the QS-DSSCs based on IGEs exhibit excellent durability without losing their photovoltaic performances during the accelerated thermal and light–soaking test. These results are very important to the researches on the electrochemical mechanism and application of QS-DSSCs based on IGEs.