Surface modification of electrospun nanofibers of TiO2 in TiCl4 treatment for cactus-like TiO2 nanostructures

Abstract A cactus-like TiO2 nanostructure morphology was easily synthesized from electrospun TiO2 nanofibers as the template. The upgraded cactus-like TiO2 nanostructures were used as a photoanode material in dye-sensitized solar cells which showed 6.00 mA/cm2 higher current density and 10 mV higher open-circuit voltage to boost the overall power conversion efficiency to 5.21% from 2.13% for the solar cells having TiO2 nanofibrous photoanodes of the same active area and illumination conditions. In short, the result was a combination of the characteristics of both 0D and 1D nanostructures, i.e., higher surface area and improved electron transport. This was achieved through a simple TiCl4 treatment in room temperature conditions which has never resulted in any morphological advantages in any of the previous reports. Since these values were achieved without a separate TiCl4 treatment of the photoanode film, much higher performance is anticipated upon applying enhancement techniques. In a bird’s-eye view, this article provides insights into chemically modifying 1D nanostructures for an improved surface area and better results in their applications.