Dye-sensitized solar cells based on nitrogen-doped TiO2–B nanowire/TiO2 nanoparticle composite photoelectrode

TiO2–B nanowire/TiO2 nanoparticle composite is an ideal nanomaterial for dye-sensitized solar cell photoelectrode because it combines the advantages of rapid electron transport in nanowires and high surface area of nanoparticles. Meanwhile, nitrogen doping is also an effective method for enhancing the photo-electrical conversion efficiency. In this work, nitrogen-doped TiO2–B nanowires are obtained using NH3 as a gaseous precursor under middle pressures. And the nitrogen-doped naowire/nanoparticle composite electrodes are fabricated. The conversion efficiency of nitrogen-doped nanowire/nanoparticle cells (7.21%) is higher than that of undoped nanowire/nanoparticle cells (6.10%) and nitrogen-doped nanoparticle cells (5.37%).