Atomic Layer Deposition of TiO sub(2) on Mesoporous nanoITO: Conductive Core-Shell Photoanodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Core-shell structures consisting of thin shells of conformal TiO sub(2) deposited on high surface area, conductive Sn-doped In sub(2)O sub(3) nanoparticle. Mesoscopic films were synthesized by atomic layer deposition and studied for application in dye-sensitized solar cells. Results obtained with the N719 dye show that short-circuit current densities, open-circuit voltages, and back electron transfer lifetimes all increased with increasing TiO sub(2) shell thickness up to 1.8-2.4 nm and then decline as the thickness was increased further. At higher shell thicknesses, back electron transfer to -Ru super(III) is increasingly competitive with transport to the nanoITO core resulting in decreased device efficiencies. Keywords: Dye-sensitized solar cells; core-shell structure; atomic layer deposition; tin-doped indium oxide; TiO sub(2)