Ordered Single‐Crystalline Anatase TiO2 Nanorod Clusters Planted on Graphene for Fast Charge Transfer in Photoelectrochemical Solar Cells |
| |
| Authors: | Yang Wang Xueqin Liu Zhen Li Ya Cao Yinchang Li Xupo Liu Songru Jia Yanli Zhao |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Faculty of Material Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, P. R. China;2. Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore |
| |
| Abstract: | Achieving efficient charge transport is a great challenge in nanostructured TiO2‐electrode‐based photoelectrochemical cells. Inspired by excellent directional charge transport and the well‐known electroconductibility of 1D anatase TiO2 nanostructured materials and graphene, respectively, planting ordered, single‐crystalline anatase TiO2 nanorod clusters on graphene sheets (rGO/ATRCs) via a facial one‐pot solvothermal method is reported. The hierarchical rGO/ATRCs nanostructure can serve as an efficient light‐harvesting electrode for dye‐sensitized solar cells. In addition, the obtained high‐crystallinity anatase TiO2 nanorods in rGO/ATRCs possess a lower density of trap states, thus facilitating diffusion‐driven charge transport and suppressing electron recombination. Moreover, the novel architecture significantly enhances the trap‐free charge diffusion coefficient, which contributes to superior electron mobility properties. By virtue of more efficient charge transport and higher energy conversion efficiency, the rGO/ATRCs developed in this work show significant advantages over conventional rGO–TiO2 nanoparticle counterparts in photoelectrochemical cells. |
| |
| Keywords: | anatase titanium dioxide architectures charge transport graphene photoelectrochemical solar cells |
|
|
