Study of TiO2 Films Sensitized with Dye by Functionalized Carboxylate Deposition for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

Dye sensitized solar cells have attracted much attention as an alternative to conventional silicon based solar cells due to low production costs. Traditional dye sensitized solar cell fabrication includes sensitizing of TiO2 film by a monolayer of dye by dip coating. This consumes a major portion of fabrication time which limits the throughput and cost-effectiveness of this technology. Thus, there is need for a rapid system for dye loading of dye sensitized solar cell photo anodes. The objective of this research was to develop a novel system for rapid formation of a dye monolayer on TiO2. TiO2 films were sensitized with dye by functionalized carboxylate deposition, a gas phase deposition technique. AFM topography images and surface potential measurements indicated formation of a monolayer of dye on the TiO2 film. UV-VIS absorption indicated the self-limiting nature of the reaction and confirmed the formation of a monolayer of dye. FTIR measurements confirmed the presence of the dye on the TiO2 film. Functionalized carboxylate deposition decreased the time for sensitization of TiO2 film by 18 to 72 times in comparison to dip coating process, indicating that this technique can be used for rapid dye sensitizing of TiO2 in dye sensitized solar cell. This is the first report of deposition of monolayer of dye on TiO2 by functionalized carboxylate deposition for dye sensitized solar cells