Molten Salt Synthesized TiO2-Graphene Composites for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Applications

The present study demonstrates a facile approach by which TiO2-graphene nanocomposites can be processed into bulk powders via molten salt technique. A detailed study had been performed to elucidate the effect of graphene content (0.2–10 wt%) in these nanocomposites and its impact on the opto-electrical properties. From the analysis an intrinsic correlation between the graphene content and conductance of the composite has been explained on the basis of relative band gap and work function properties. Fluorescence spectroscopy measurements showed the excitonic intensity to be lower in these nanocomposites indicating that the recombination of photo-induced electrons and holes can be effectively inhibited. Conductivity measurements revealed mean specific conductance values about 15–55% higher than that of the TiO2 nanoparticles. Preliminary studies have shown that an efficiency of 5.4% could be attained by employing TiO2-graphene nanocomposites as photoanodes in dye sensitized solar cells.