Synthesis of Nanopowders by Hydrothermal Method and their Application to Dye-sentisized Solar Cell Materials

In the present work, we synthesize nano-sized ZnO, $SnO_2$, and $TiO_2$ powders by hydrothermal reaction using metal chlorides. We also examine the energy-storage characteristics of the resulting materials to evaluate the potential application of these powders to dye-sensitized solar cells. The control of processing parameters such as pressure, temperature, and the concentration of aqueous solution results in the formation of a variety of powder morphologies with different sizes. Nano-rod, nano-flower, and spherical powders are easily formed with the present method. Heat treatment after the hydrothermal reaction usually increases the size of the powder. At temperatures above $1000^{\circ}C$, a complete collapse of the shape occurs. With regard to the capacity of DSSC materials, the hydrothermally synthesized $TiO_2$ results in the highest current density of $9.1mA/cm^2$ among the examined oxides. This is attributed to the fine particle size and morphology with large specific surface area.

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