Application of Nanocrystalline Tio2 Particles Synthesized by Sonochemical Methods as Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (Dssc)

Nanocrystalline TiO2 (titania) particles have been synthesized using sonochemical method. Two ultrasonic wave sources with different powers were used, 21 W 55 kHz (low power) and 130 W 20 kHz (high power), resulting in 5 different titania powders with different characteristics. This paper presents the performance of the synthesized titania powders and also of the commercially available titania powder Degusa P25, when applied as dye sensitized solar cell in the same setup as comparison. The best values of open circuit voltage (Voc) and short circuit current density (JSC) for solar cell sample using synthesized powder was 442 mV and 1.40 mA/cm2 respectively, obtained from powders sonicated for 8 hours. This VOC value is near the value of solar cell prepared by comercial titania (450 mV), while the JSC value is bigger compare to that prepared by commercial titania (0.89 mA/cm2). The fill factor of all samples, including the one prepared using Degusa P25, is low which is probably due to low catalytic activity of the carbon-coated counter electrode used.