Improved charge collection efficiency of hollow sphere/nanoparticle composite TiO2 electrodes for solid state dye sensitized solar cells

The photoanodes of solid state dye sensitized solar cells (ss-DSCs) embedded with different contents of TiO2 hollow spheres (HSs) were prepared and the photovoltaic performances were systematically characterized. TiO2 hollow spheres were synthesized by a facile sacrificial templating method, grounded and added in different ratios to TiO2 nanoparticle (NP) paste, from which composite HS/NP electrodes were fabricated. The composite photoanodes include hollow spheres of 300–700 nm with enhanced light scattering characteristics in visible range which leads to improved light absorption in conventional thin film electrodes of ss-DSC. By optimizing the amount of HSs in the paste, 40% improvement in efficiency was obtained in comparison to ss-DSC utilized pure NP electrodes. By increasing the fraction of HSs in the electrode the current density increased by 56% (from 2.5 to 3.9 mA cm−2). The improved photovoltaic performance of ss-DSC is primarily due to different morphology and altered charged trap distribution in HSs in comparison to NP which leads to significant enhancement in electron transport time and electron lifetime as well as charge collection efficiency and light absorption properties. ► By adding TiO2 hollow spheres light scattering enhanced in thin film photoanodes.► Lifetime of electrons improved in the novel composite electrodes.► Due to less grain boundaries in hollow spheres, back recombination has decreased.