Deposition of transparent TiO2 nanotube-films via electrophoretic technique for photovoltaic applications

In this paper, semitransparent TiO2 nanotube-films were prepared on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass by the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process and their properties were characterized. Furthermore, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on the as-prepared TiO2 nanotube-films were assembled, and effects of the film thickness and EPD voltage on performance of the DSSCs were investigated. Power conversion efficiency with the maximum value of 7.10% was successfully achieved, indicating the semitransparent TiO2 nanotube-films are very promising for high transmittance substrates and high efficiency photovoltaic electrodes.