Sputtered highly ordered TiO2 nanorod arrays and their applications as the electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells

For the first time, the TiO2 nanorod arrays have been prepared on ITO substrates at room temperature by dc reactive magnetron sputtering technique. These TiO2 nanorods have a preferred orientation along the (220) direction and are perpendicular to the ITO substrate. Both the X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements show that the highly ordered TiO2 nanorod arrays have an anatase crystal structure. The diameter of the nanorod varies from 30 nm to 100 nm and the nanorod length can be varied from several hundred nanometers to several micrometers depending on the deposition time. The TiO2 nanorod arrays with about 3 micrometers length have been used as an electrode for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Short-circuit photocurrent density, open-circuit voltage, fill factor and light-to-electricity conversion efficiency at 100 mW/cm2 light intensity are estimated to be 12.76 mA/cm2, 0.65 V, 0.63 and 5.25%, respectively, for the DSSC made of the TiO2 nanorods.