Acid versus base peptization of mesoporous nanocrystalline TiO2 films: functional studies in dye sensitized solar cells

We report an analysis of the influence of acid/base conditions employed in the synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles upon the performance of dye sensitised photoelectrochemical solar cells fabricated from these particles. The functional properties of the TiO2 nanoparticles in these devices are investigated by potential step chronoamperometry, transient laser spectroscopy, and photovoltaic device characterisation. We find that base peptization conditions employed in the sol–gel fabrication of the TiO2 nanoparticles result in a reduction in film electron density under negative applied bias, correlated with slower interfacial recombination losses and a higher device open circuit voltage.