Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube-titania Nanocomposites: Understanding Nano-Structural Parameters and Functionality in Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

Nanocomposites consisting of multiwalled carbon nanotubes and titania were synthesized by two methods, namely, sol-gel and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) methods. The work takes advantage of the bridging ability of nanotechnology between macromolecules and the solid state process in engineering alternative nanomaterials for various applications including solar cell fabrication. Physical and chemical characterization of the mesoporous nanocomposites from the two synthetic methods were investigated using Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, surface characterization and X-ray diffraction analysis. Physicochemical properties in the nanocomposites such as thermal stability, pore volume, crystallinity and surface area were observed to be a subject of MWCNT: titania ratios and synthetic methods. From the CVD synthetic method, observed attributes includemore uniformand smoother coating; better crystallinity and larger pore width than sol-gel method. On the other hand, nanocomposites from sol-gel synthetic method had larger surface areas, were more defective and less thermally stable than those from CVD. Nanocomposites by the CVD method performed 39.2% more efficient than those from sol-gel in light-harvesting experiments. The study shows that the nanocomposites synthesized were more effective than titania alone when the cheaper natural dye, Eosin B, was used. This highlights the great potential of typical nanomaterials in improving the performances of titania in DSSCs as well as lowering the cost of the ultimate devices.

KEYWORDS Dye-sensitized solar cells, multiwalled carbon nanotubes, nanocomposite, titania, sol-gel, chemical vapour deposition.