Design of a TiO2 nanosheet/nanoparticle gradient film photoanode and its improved performance for dye-sensitized solar cells

A TiO2 film photoanode with gradient structure in nanosheet/nanoparticle concentration on the fluorine-doped tin oxide glass from substrate to surface was prepared by a screen printing method. The as-prepared dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) based on the gradient film electrode exhibited an enhanced photoelectric conversion efficiency of 6.48%, exceeding that of a pure nanoparticle-based DSSC with the same film thickness by a factor of 2.6. The enhanced photovoltaic performance of the gradient film-based DSSC was attributed to the superior light scattering ability of TiO2 nanosheets within the gradient structure, which was beneficial to light harvesting. Furthermore, the TiO2 nanosheets with exposed {001} facets facilitated the electron transport from dye molecules to the conduction band of TiO2 and further to the conductive glass. Meanwhile, the high specific surface area of TiO2 nanosheets helped the adsorption of dye molecules, and the TiO2 nanoparticle underlayer ensured good electronic contact between the TiO2 film and the fluorine-doped tin oxide glass substrate. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements further confirmed the electron transport differences between DSSCs based on nanosheet/nanoparticle gradient film electrodes and DSSCs based on nanosheet/nanoparticle homogeneous mixtures, pure TiO2 nanoparticles and pure TiO2 nanosheets with the same film thickness.