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• Morris, A
• Hu, M
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• Morris, A
• Hu, M

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Materials 2012, 5(10), 1890-1909; doi:10.3390/ma5101890

Review

Controlling Morphological Parameters of Anodized Titania Nanotubes for Optimized Solar Energy Applications

Andrew Haring ¹ , Amanda Morris ^1,*  and Michael Hu ^2,*

¹ Department of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0212, USA ² Energy and Transportation Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA

* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 3 September 2012; in revised form: 8 October 2012 / Accepted: 10 October 2012 / Published: 19 October 2012

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Materials for Water-Splitting)

Download PDF Full-Text [1282 KB, uploaded 19 October 2012 17:03 CEST]

Abstract: Anodized TiO₂ nanotubes have received much attention for their use in solar energy applications including water oxidation cells and hybrid solar cells [dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and bulk heterojuntion solar cells (BHJs)]. High surface area allows for increased dye-adsorption and photon absorption. Titania nanotubes grown by anodization of titanium in fluoride-containing electrolytes are aligned perpendicular to the substrate surface, reducing the electron diffusion path to the external circuit in solar cells. The nanotube morphology can be optimized for the various applications by adjusting the anodization parameters but the optimum crystallinity of the nanotube arrays remains to be realized. In addition to morphology and crystallinity, the method of device fabrication significantly affects photon and electron dynamics and its energy conversion efficiency. This paper provides the state-of-the-art knowledge to achieve experimental tailoring of morphological parameters including nanotube diameter, length, wall thickness, array surface smoothness, and annealing of nanotube arrays.

Keywords: titania; TiO₂; nanotube; water oxidation; bulk heterojunction solar cells; dye-sensitized solar cells; photoelectrochemical catalysis

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