Enhanced photovoltaic performance of fully flexible dye-sensitized solar cells based on the Nb2O5 coated hierarchical TiO2 nanowire-nanosheet arrays

Abstract Nb2O5 coated hierarchical TiO2 nanowire-sheet arrays photoanode was synthesized on flexible Ti-mesh substrate by using a hydrothermal approach. The effect of TiO2 morphology and Nb2O5 coating layer on the photovoltaic performance of the flexible dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on Ti-mesh supported nanostructures were systematically investigated. Compared to the TiO2 nanowire arrays (NWAs), hierarchical TiO2 nanowire arrays (HNWAs) with enlarged internal surface area and strong light scattering properties exhibited higher overall conversion efficiency. The introduction of thin Nb2O5 coating layers on the surface of the TiO2 HNWAs played a key role in improving the photovoltaic performance of the flexible DSSC. By separating the TiO2 and electrolyte (I–/I3–), the Nb2O5 energy barrier decreased the electron recombination rate and increased electron collection efficiency and injection efficiency, resulting in improved Jsc and Voc. Furthermore, the influence of Nb2O5 coating amounts on the power conversion efficiency were discussed in detail. The fully flexible DSSC based on Nb2O5 coated TiO2 HNWAs films with a thickness of 14 μm displayed a well photovoltaic property of 4.55% (Jsc = 10.50 mA cm–2, Voc = 0.75 V, FF = 0.58). The performance enhancement of the flexible DSSC is largely attributed to the reduced electron recombination, enlarged internal surface area and superior light scattering ability of the formed hierarchical nanostructures.