Preparation, characterization, and application of titanium nano-tube array in dye-sensitized solar cells

The vertically orientated TiO(2 )nanotube array (TNA) decorated with TiO(2 )nano-particles was successfully fabricated by electrochemically anodizing titanium (Ti) foils followed by Ti-precursor post-treatment and annealing process. The TNA morphology characterized by SEM and TEM was found to be filled with TiO(2 )nano-particles interior and exterior of the TiO(2 )nano-tubes after titanium (IV) n-butoxide (TnB) treatment, whereas TiO(2 )nano-particles were only found inside of TiO(2 )nano-tubes upon titanium tetrachloride (TiCl(4)) treatment. The efficiency in TNA-based DSSCs was improved by both TnB and TiCl(4 )treatment presumably due to the increase of dye adsorption.