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Controlled Oriented Attachment of Bipyramidal‐Shaped Anatase TiO 2 and Their Enhanced Performance in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells
Author(s) -
Yang Shuang,
Zheng Yi Chu,
Hou Yu,
Yang Hua Gui
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chempluschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.801
H-Index - 61
ISSN - 2192-6506
DOI - 10.1002/cplu.201402449
Subject(s) - anatase , materials science , hydrothermal circulation , nanocrystal , bipyramid , dye sensitized solar cell , nanotechnology , energy conversion efficiency , chemical engineering , crystal (programming language) , photovoltaic system , crystal structure , crystallography , optoelectronics , chemistry , photocatalysis , catalysis , electrode , organic chemistry , programming language , computer science , engineering , ecology , biology , electrolyte
A low‐cost hydrothermal method was used to synthesize high‐purity bipyramidal single‐crystals of TiO 2 enclosed with high percentage of (101) facets. The oriented attachment behavior can be controlled by fine tuning the reaction temperature. This played an important role in determining the crystal growth along [001] direction resulting in the self‐assembly of the bipyramid crystals into connected ones to form single‐crystal nanrods without the loss of surface area. In addition, the relationship between oriented attachment and the photovoltaic performance of such anatase TiO 2 nanocrystals in photoanodes of DSCs was investigated. The highly oriented sample reached a maximum overall energy conversion efficiency of 8.63 %. These results further illustrated that the highly oriented samples have superior charge transport ability derived from the enhanced long‐range atomic arrangement with reduced grain boundaries and comparable uptake of dye molecules.