Low temperature synthesis of transparent, vertically aligned anatase TiO ₂ nanowire arrays: Application to dye sensitized solar cells

We present a low temperature (≈ 70 °C) method to prepare anatase, vertically aligned feather-like TiO ₂ (VAFT) nanowire arrays via reactive pulsed DC magnetron sputtering. The synthesis method is general, offering a promising strategy for preparing crystalline nanowire metal oxide films for applications including gas sensing, photocatalysis, and 3rd generation photovoltaics. As an example application, anatase nanowire films are grown on fluorine doped tin oxide coated glass substrates and used as the photoanode in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). AM1.5G power conversion efficiencies for the solar cells made of 1 μm thick VAFT have reached 0.42%, which compares favorably to solar cells made of the same thickness P25 TiO ₂ (0.35%).