Article: Comparative study of TiO2 films prepared by EPD and sol-gel techniques and their use in DSSCs Journal: International Journal of Nanotechnology (IJNT) 2014 Vol.11 No.9/10/11 pp.946 - 954 Abstract: In this work, we give a comparative study of titanium dioxide (TiO2) films fabricated using the electro-phoretic deposition technique (EPD) and the sol-gel one. The TiO2 films were elaborated on commercial ITO layers and were used as photo electrodes in dye sensitised solar cells (DSSCs). To fabricate these cells, we used N3 as the sensitising dye, the electrolyte is a KI/I2 solution and the counter electrode is a thin aluminium film. The surface of fabricated cells is 2.5 cm2. Both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and XRD characterisations show that the EPD technique leads to the formation of a thick TiO2 layer, where grains have greater dimensions than the sol-gel one. The transmission spectra measured in the UV-Vis-NIR domain show better values in the case of sol-gel; however, the reflectivity of the film is greater when we use the EPD technique. Measured current-voltage characteristic under AM1.5 illumination of the fabricated DSS cells permits us to conclude that each one of the sol-gel and EPD techniques has not only advantages, but also some weaknesses. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Comparative study of TiO₂ films prepared by EPD and sol-gel techniques and their use in DSSCs

Authors: N. Bsiri; N. Ghrairi; M. Ben Rabha; M. Bouaïcha

Addresses: Laboratoire de Photovoltaïque, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l'Energie, B.P. 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif, Tunisia ' Laboratoire de Photovoltaïque, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l'Energie, B.P. 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif, Tunisia ' Laboratoire de Photovoltaïque, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l'Energie, B.P. 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif, Tunisia ' Laboratoire de Photovoltaïque, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l'Energie, B.P. 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif, Tunisia

Abstract: In this work, we give a comparative study of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) films fabricated using the electro-phoretic deposition technique (EPD) and the sol-gel one. The TiO₂ films were elaborated on commercial ITO layers and were used as photo electrodes in dye sensitised solar cells (DSSCs). To fabricate these cells, we used N₃ as the sensitising dye, the electrolyte is a KI/I₂ solution and the counter electrode is a thin aluminium film. The surface of fabricated cells is 2.5 cm². Both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and XRD characterisations show that the EPD technique leads to the formation of a thick TiO₂ layer, where grains have greater dimensions than the sol-gel one. The transmission spectra measured in the UV-Vis-NIR domain show better values in the case of sol-gel; however, the reflectivity of the film is greater when we use the EPD technique. Measured current-voltage characteristic under AM1.5 illumination of the fabricated DSS cells permits us to conclude that each one of the sol-gel and EPD techniques has not only advantages, but also some weaknesses.

Keywords: titanium dioxide; TiO2 films; sol-gel; electrophoretic deposition; dye sensitised solar cells; DSSCs; nanotechnology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2014.063801

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2014 Vol.11 No.9/10/11, pp.946 - 954

Published online: 14 Jan 2015 *

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Title: Comparative study of TiO2 films prepared by EPD and sol-gel techniques and their use in DSSCs

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Title: Comparative study of TiO₂ films prepared by EPD and sol-gel techniques and their use in DSSCs