Facile solvothermal synthesis of single-crystalline anatase nanorods for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

Single-crystalline anatase TiO 2 nanorods (TiO 2 -SANRs) were synthesized through a facile solvothermal method and successfully applied as the photoanodes for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The prepared samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The power conversion efficiencies of TiO 2 -SANRs decorated Degussa P25 nanoparticle solar cells increased by 13.5 % compared with commercial Degussa P25 TiO 2 solar cells under standard illumination conditions (AM 1.5G, 100 mW/cm –2 ). The improved performance of the TiO 2 -SANRs decorated Degussa P25 nanoparticle solar cells was primarily ascribed to the enhanced short-circuit photocurrent density ( J sc ) despite a declined dye-loading capacity. The light-scattering effect in the long-wavelength region, as evidenced from the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) response and the diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was recognized as the main reason for the photocurrent enrichment.