Dye-sensitized solar cells based on nanocrystalline TiO2 films surface treated with Al3+ ions: photovoltage and electron transport studies.

Nanocrystalline TiO2 films, surface modified with Al3+, were manufactured by depositing a TiO2 suspension containing small amounts of aluminum nitrate or aluminum chloride onto conducting glass substrates, followed by drying, compression, and finally heating to 530 degrees C. Electrodes prepared with TiO2 nanoparticles coated with less than 0.3 wt % aluminum oxide with respect to TiO2 improved the efficiency of the dye sensitized solar cell. This amount corresponds to less than a monolayer of aluminum oxide. Thus, the Al ions terminate the TiO2 surface rather than form a distinct aluminum oxide layer. The aluminum ion surface treatment affects the solar cell in different ways: the potential of the conduction band is shifted, the electron lifetime is increased, and the electron transport is slower when aluminum ions are present between interconnected TiO2 particles.