Synthesis of TiO2 nanorods with a microwave assisted solvothermal method and their application as dye-sensitized solar cells

Inthiswork, Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructures have beensynthesized via a microwave assisted solvothermalmethod using titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP), polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP) and Ascorbic Acid (AA) in ethanol. The mole ratio of PVP/AA was found to be critical in determining the morphology and crystal phase of the final product. PVP/AA mole ratio varied from 1 up to 15 to obtain different morphologies of TiO2. The structural analysis by XRD diffraction confirmed formation of titanium dioxide. The Williamson-Hall (W-H) analysis was used to study the individual contributionsofcrystallite sizes and lattice strain on the peak broadening of the TiO2 nanoparticles.FTIR spectrum was used to estimate the various functional groups present in the nanostructures. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images demonstrate nanoparticle, short nanorod, and long nanorods for 5,10 and 15 mole ratio of PVP/AA respectively. TiO2 nanoparticles and nanorodshave been used as photoelectrode in dye-synthesized solar cell (DSSCs) fabrication. The efficiencies of solar cells were calculated 3.23%and 4.01% for nanoparticles and nanorods, respectively.