Dye-sensitized solar cells made of titania nanoparticles structured into a mesoporous material

Using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the structure-directing agent, titania nanoparticles (3-5 nm) were organized into a mesoporous material (8.6 nm average pore size and 99 m2/g). The textural and spatial structuring of the mesoporous material were studied by isothermal gas adsorption, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Dye-sensitized solar cells using mesoporous material exhibit a one order of magnitude increase in the overall efficiency with respect to analogous cells prepared using the same nanoparticles without periodic mesoporous material. This photovoltaic enhancement is due to increased adsorption of the dye (ruthenium polypyridyl N719) to the mesoporous material arising from the larger area of this mesoporous solid with respect to the same unstructured nanoparticles.