TiO₂ Nanorods Prepared from Anodic Aluminum Oxide Template and their Applications in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) was used as a template coupled with liquid process for synthesis of TiO₂ nanorods. Immersion setting (IS) was carried out to insert a TiO₂ precursor solution into AAO pore. With the calcination and NaOH treatment to remove AAO, SEM characterization revealed that TiO₂ nanorods with diameter around 100-200 nm were successfully fabricated from AAO commercial templates. The synthesized nanorods mixed with commercial TiO₂ nanoparticles (P-25) with a mixing ratio of 5:95 (by mass) were used as an electrode in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), The photoelectrodes made with nanorods showed a better performance than the cells used of only pristine TiO₂ nanoparticles. The results from current density-voltage (J-V) characteristics of DSSCs showed that short-circuit current density (J_SC), open-circuit voltage (V_OC), fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (PCE) are 11.78 mA/cm², 0.72 V, 0.55, and 4.68%, respectively. Due to the effects of one-dimensional (1-D) nanostructure, the electron expressway concept was achieved in this research.