Deposição eletroforética de dióxido de titânio para aplicação em células solares sensibilizadas por corantes

Abstract

This work aimed to develop TiO2 photoanodes by electrophoretic deposition technique on FTO substrate for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) applications by using two electrophoretic deposition methods: continuous and multistep. Deposition time, number of layers, temperature of annealing and concentrations of TiO2 in suspension were investigated as working parameters during the production of the substrates. According to the images obtained by scanning electron microscopy, the films obtained by continuous electrophoretic deposition presented formation of cracks that made them inappropriate for use as substrate. This problem was solved by using multistep electrophoretic deposition technique. The best photoconversion performances were obtained for the films in the following conditions: aqueous suspension of TiO2 (2 g/L), 4 deposition cycles (60 seconds each) and annealing temperature of 450 °C for 30 minutes. These devices showed a 2.7% efficiency photoconversion. Electrochemical impedance analysis showed lower charge transfer resistance at the interface TiO2/dye/electrolyte and an increase in the electron lifetime with increased deposition, reaching a maximum when 4 depositions were applied. These results are indicative that the electron recombination rate decreases thus implying an efficiency enhancement of the DSSCs.