The Fabrication and Characteristics of Dye-sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) Using the Patterned TiO₂ Films

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been widely investigated as a next-generation solar cell because of their simple structure and low manufacturing cost. The $TiO_2$ film with thickness of $8{\sim}10{\mu}m$, which consists of nanoparticles, acts as both a scaffold with a high surface-to-volume ratio for the dye loading and a pathway to remove the electrons. However, charge carriers have to move across many particle boundaries by a hopping mechanism. So, one dimensional nanostructures such as nanotubes, nanorods and nanowires should improve charge carrier transportation by providing a facile direct electron pathway and lowering the diffusion resistance. However, the efficiencies of DSSCs using one dimensional nanostructures are less than the $TiO_2$ nanoparticle-based DSSCs. In this work, the patterned $TiO_2$ film with thickness of $3{\mu}m$ was deposited using photolithography process to decrease of electron pathway and increase of surface area and transmittance of $TiO_2$ films. Properties of the patterned $TiO_2$ films were investigated by various analysis method such as X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and UV-visible spectrophotometer.