Growth of nanocrystalline TiO films by pulsed-laser-induced liquid-deposition method and preliminary applications for dye-sensitized solar cells.

novel technique, the pulsed-laser-induced liquid-deposition (PLLD) method, has been employed to grow nanocrystalline TiO films on fluorine-doped tin-oxide-coated (FTO) glass substrates at room temperature. The PLLD method was implemented by directing a pulsed laser into a liquid precursor and depositing the photosynthesized nanocrystalline TiO on an FTO glass substrate immersed in the liquid precursor. The as-grown nanocrystalline TiO films were found to have a rutile crystal structure and consist of a number of flower-like TiO crystal units arrayed together on the FTO glass substrate. Each of the flower-like TiO crystal units was composed of many nanostructured TiO whiskers, and their building blocks were found to be bundles of TiO nanorods with diameter of about 5 nm. The growth of these TiO nanorods is highly anisotropic, with the preferential growth direction along [001]. As-grown nanocrystalline TiO films were annealed at 450°C in air for 30 min for the applications of dye-sensitized solar cells, and the nanostructured characteristics with good porosity were preserved after annealing. A preliminary dye-sensitized solar cell was built based on the annealed nanocrystalline TiO film. The results suggest that the PLLD method is a promising technique for growing nanocrystalline TiO films for photovoltaic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]