First principles study of the size effect of TiO2anatase nanoparticles in dye-sensitized solar cell

Density of states of eight TiO 2 anatase nanoparticles have been studied. The size effect of the TiO 2 nanoparticles on the electron transport in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has been investigated. For the small size nanoparticles ( R < 2 nm), the smaller the particle is, the more the acceptable states locate at the bottom of the conduction band. As a result, the electron injection rate to the particles from the dye is higher in the smaller nanoparticles DSSC.