Effect of TiO2 photo-electrode growth condition on dye-sensitised solar cells

Titanium dioxide- (TiO₂) based photo-electrode for dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs) use is fabricated with the electro-phoretic deposition (EPD) technique on indium-tin-oxide (ITO). TiO₂ films were synthesised at different EPD biases ranging from 70 to 110 V. We correlate the morphological and optical properties of formed films to the electrical characteristics of fabricated DSSCs. In addition, by neglecting the tunnelling and the tunnelling-assisted thermo-ionic currents with respect to the pure thermo-ionic current at the ITO/TiO₂ interface, we evaluate the high potential barrier, e?_B. Investigation of the electrical properties of the formed DSSCs shows a best result when the TiO₂ film is elaborated at 100 V. Furthermore, by taking into account the high band energy of 0.6 eV at an aluminium-based counter electrode/electrolyte interface, we deduce that aluminium reduces drastically the short-circuit current of the DSSC.