Dye-sensitized solar cell and photocatalytic performance of nanocomposite photocatalyst prepared by electrochemical anodization

This study compares different Fe-doped TiO2 nanostructures in terms of their photocatalytic performance. Iron-doped TiO2 nanostructures (FeTNs) were prepared by in situ anodizing of titanium in a single-step process in the presence of 3, 9, 15 and 21 mM K3Fe(CN)6. Potassium ferricyanide was used as the iron source. Prepared films are amorphous, so these layers were thermally annealed. The effect of iron doping on the photoelectrochemical properties (including dye-sensitized solar cells) and photocatalysis properties (decomposition of methomyl) was investigated. In all investigated cases, the sample C, which was formed by anodizing in a ethylene glycol electrolyte containing 9 mM K3Fe(CN)6, exhibited better performance than the bare TiO2 and FeNTs fabricated using other iron concentrations. This study demonstrated a feasible and simple anodizing method to fabricate an effective, reproducible and inexpensive photocatalyst for various applications.