Low-temperature sintering of TiO2 colloids: Application to flexible dye-sensitized solar cells

Colloidal TiO2 films have been prepared in a manner suitable for use with f lexible substrates. Sol-gel particles were sintered under various condition s of temperature and initial presence/absence of organic surfactants. The p hysicochemical properties of the resulting films are reported. Independent of the sintering temperature, films that did not initially contain organic surfactants adhered more strongly to the underlying F:SnO2 substrate. The a mount of sensitizing dyes adsorbed by a film is also sensitive to the initi al presence or absence of organic surfactants and to the sintering temperat ure. Used as a dye-sensitized anode in photoelectrochemical cells, an open- circuit photovoltage of 647 mV and a short-circuit photocurrent density of 2 mA/cm(2) were obtained for 1 mu m thick TiO2 films sintered at 100 degree s C; normalized to the same thickness, similar results were obtained with f ilms initially containing surfactant and sintered at 450 degrees C.