Abstract:In this study, titanium oxysulfate (TiOSO<inf>4</inf>) and graphene were used as titanium source and supporter, respectively, to synthesize anatase TiO<inf>2</inf>-graphene (TiO<inf>2</inf>-G) composite. Crystal structure, morphology, and composition of TiO<inf>2</inf>-G were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, and thermogravimetric analysis. Both TiO<inf>2</inf>-G and blank TiO<inf>2</inf> powders exhibit spindle-shaped structure with the long axis along [001]. Compared to unsupported TiO<inf>2</inf>, TiO<inf>2</inf> nanoparticles uniformly formed on graphene surface. When fabricated into dye-sensitized solar cells, photoelectrical conversion efficiency of TiO<inf>2</inf>-G (2.3 %) was much higher than that of blank TiO<inf>2</inf> (0.89 %) prepared at the same conditions. Moreover, high sintering temperature enhanced photoelectrical performance of the composite. When the temperature was increased from 450 to 600 °C, the efficiency was improved from 1.5 to 2.6 %. The findings above demonstrate that TiO<inf>2</inf>-G has great potential for applications in dye-sensitized solar cells. © 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Volume:120

Issue:2

Translation or Not:no