Effect of TiO2 nanotube length and lateral tubular spacing on photovoltaic properties of back illuminated dye sensitized solar cell

The main objective of this study is to show the effect of TiO2 nanotube length, diameter and intertubular lateral spacings on the performance of back illuminated dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The present study shows that processing short TiO2 nanotubes with good lateral spacings could significantly improve the performance of back illuminated DSSCs. Vertically aligned, uniform sized diameter TiO2 nanotube arrays of different tube lengths have been fabricated on Ti plates by a controlled anodization technique at different times of 24, 36, 48 and 72 h using ethylene glycol and ammonium fluoride as an electrolyte medium. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed formation of nanotube arrays spread uniformly over a large area. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of TiO2 nanotube layer revealed the presence of crystalline anatase phases. By employing the TiO2 nanotube array anodized at 24 h showing a diameter ∼80 nm and length ∼1·5 μm as the photo-anode for back illuminated DSSCs, a full-sun conversion efficiency (η) of 3·5 % was achieved, the highest value reported for this length of nanotubes.