Electrospun Nanofiber Mats with Embedded Non-Sintered TiO2 for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs)

TiO₂ is a semiconductor that is commonly used in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). However, the necessity of sintering the TiO₂ layer is usually problematic due to the desired temperatures of typically 500 °C in cells that are prepared on polymeric or textile electrodes. This is why textile-based DSSCs often use metal fibers or metallic woven fabrics as front electrodes on which the TiO₂ is coated. Alternatively, several research groups investigate the possibilities to reduce the necessary sintering temperatures by chemical or other pre-treatments of the TiO₂. Here, we report on a simple method to avoid the sintering step by using a nanofiber mat as a matrix embedding TiO₂ nanoparticles. The TiO₂ layer can be dyed with natural dyes, resulting in a similar bathochromic shift of the UV/Vis spectrum, as it is known from sintered TiO₂ on glass substrates, which indicates an equivalent chemical bonding. Our results indicate a new possibility for producing textile-based DSSCs with TiO₂, even on textile fabrics that are not high-temperature resistant. View Full-Text

Keywords: TiO₂; dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC); textile-based DSSC; electrospinning; nanofiber mat; polyacrylonitrile (PAN)

▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Mamun, A.; Trabelsi, M.; Klöcker, M.; Sabantina, L.; Großerhode, C.; Blachowicz, T.; Grötsch, G.; Cornelißen, C.; Streitenberger, A.; Ehrmann, A. Electrospun Nanofiber Mats with Embedded Non-Sintered TiO₂ for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs). Fibers 2019, 7, 60. https://doi.org/10.3390/fib7070060

AMA Style

Mamun A, Trabelsi M, Klöcker M, Sabantina L, Großerhode C, Blachowicz T, Grötsch G, Cornelißen C, Streitenberger A, Ehrmann A. Electrospun Nanofiber Mats with Embedded Non-Sintered TiO₂ for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs). Fibers. 2019; 7(7):60. https://doi.org/10.3390/fib7070060

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mamun, Al, Marah Trabelsi, Michaela Klöcker, Lilia Sabantina, Christina Großerhode, Tomasz Blachowicz, Georg Grötsch, Carsten Cornelißen, Almuth Streitenberger, and Andrea Ehrmann. 2019. "Electrospun Nanofiber Mats with Embedded Non-Sintered TiO₂ for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs)" Fibers 7, no. 7: 60. https://doi.org/10.3390/fib7070060

Find Other Styles

Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Abstract views Pdf views Html views

Article Menu

Electrospun Nanofiber Mats with Embedded Non-Sintered TiO₂ for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs)

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Article Access Map by Country/Region

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI