Applied Sciences (Sep 2022)

Microwave Assisted Preparation of Barium Doped Titania (Ba/TiO<sub>2</sub>) as Photoanode in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

  • Awais Ahmad,
  • Safia Khan,
  • Mariam Khan,
  • Rafael Luque,
  • Mohammed Jalalah,
  • Mabkhoot A. Alsaiari

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/app12189280
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 18
p. 9280

Abstract

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Pure TiO2 and barium (0.5 wt%) doped TiO2 (Ba/TiO2) nanostructures have been synthesized via facile microwave irradiation method. The pure anatase phase of synthesized photoactive material was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Ba doping in the TiO2 host structure influenced the optical band gap as confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy. The optical band gap increased from 3.21 eV for the TiO2 to 3.26 eV for Ba/TiO2. Morphological analysis of synthesized TiO2 and Ba/TiO2 was conducted using scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed the formation of Ba/TiO2 and no impurities were observed. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that the charge transfer resistance increased for Ba/TiO2, which reduced dark current creation in a dye-sensitized solar cell. The highest power conversion efficiency (3.24%) was achieved for Ba/TiO2 photoanode compared to 2.1% for a pure TiO2 photoanode-based device.

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