Conical-Shaped Titania Nanotubes for Optimized Light Management in DSSCs Reach Back-side Illumination Efficiencies > 8%

Abstract

In the present work, we introduce the anodic growth of conical shaped TiO2 nanotube arrays. These titania nanocones provide a scaffold for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) structures with significantly improved photon management, providing an optimized absorption profile compared with conventional cylindrical nanotube arrays. Finite difference time domain (FDTD) modelling demonstrates a drastically changed power-absorption characteristic over the tube length. When used in a back-side illumination DSSC configuration, nanocone structures can reach over 60 % higher solar cell conversion efficiency than conventional tubes. The resulting η of ca. 8 % represents one of the highest reported values for Graetzel type DSSCs used under back-side illumination.