Role of Transparent Electrodes for High Efficiency TiO2 Nanotube Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

In the present work, we investigate the performance of anodic TiO 2 nanotube layers in dye-sensitized solar cells under front- and back-side illumination configurations. To fabricate transparent TiO 2 nanotube electrodes, we evaporated 5 μm thick metallic Ti layers on FTO glass—then the metal layers are completely anodized to form aligned nanotube layers. We compare different types of FTO glass (conductivity and transparency) and use them for working electrodes as well as transparent platinized counter electrodes. The results show that for TiO 2 nanotube electrodes the resulting light conversion efficiency in DSSCs is highly affected by the type of glass used (efficiency range—depending on configuration from 4.62% to 7.58%).