Synthesis and application of TiO₂ single-crystal nanorod arrays grown by multicycle hydrothermal for dye-sensitized solar cells

TiO₂ is a wide band gap semiconductor with important applications in photovoltaic cells. Vertically aligned TiO₂ nanorod arrays (NRs) are grown on the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates by a multicycle hydrothermal synthesis process. The samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED). It is found that dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) assembled by the as-prepared TiO₂ single-crystal NRs exhibit different trends under the condition of different nucleation and growth concentrations. Optimum cell performance is obtained with high nucleation concentration and low growth cycle concentration. The efficiency enhancement is mainly attributed to the improved specific surface area of the nanorod.