Facile one-pot synthesis of self-assembled quantum-rod TiO2 spheres with enhanced charge transport properties for dye-sensitized solar cells and solar water-splitting

作者：Kim Dong Wook; Kim Jin Un; Shin Seong Sik; Cho Ju Young; Cho In Sun^*

来源：Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2017, 697: 222-230.

DOI：10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.12.112

• TiO2 superstructure
• One-pot synthesis
• Self-assembly
• Charge transport
• Light capturing
• Photoelectrochemical performance

We report a facile one-pot synthesis of self-assembled quantum-rod (sub-10 nm) TiO2 spheres (SQR-TiO2) via a low-temperature solution method and demonstrate the impact of SQR-TiO2 on the charge transport/collection properties of photoelectrochemical devices. The effects of dissolved ions (e.g. Na+ and Cl-) on the particle morphology was investigated through comparative experiments using various additives including Na2SO4, Na-oleate, Na2HPO4, NH4Cl, (NH4)(2)SO4, and N2H4. Importantly, we found that Na_ ions play a crucial role in the self-assembly process, while Cl- ions induce the nanorod morphology. With the synthesized SQR-TiO2 (similar to 400 nm in size), dye-sensitized solar cells and photoelectrochemical water-splitting devices were produced. The results show that the SQR-TiO2 improves light capturing and charge transport properties for both devices compared to other types of TiO2 (nanoparticles and nanoparticle-assembled spheres), and this is attributed to its unique morphology features.

• 出版日期2017-3-15