Analysis of optical and structural properties of Sm3+ doped TiO2: A potential composition for the fabrication of efficient DSSCs

The Lanthanum series (sm3+) doped semiconducting metal oxide nanoparticles have gained significant attention due to their trustable optical properties. Herewith, TiO2 and Sm3+ doped TiO2 are prepared by utilizing the facile one-pot hydrothermal method. Structural and morphological studies of the samples are obtained by XRD and HR-TEM. The anatase phase and spherical size morphology of the samples are assured from these above mentioned analyses. From UV analysis it is noted that the band gap decreases (positive shift) due to the doping of Sm3+ ions on the surface of TiO2. Photo and dark conductivity of both samples linearly increase with applied field which confirms that the positive conductivity of the sample. Comparing to pure TiO2, Sm3+ doped TiO2 sample exhibits higher conductivity. Hence, Sm3+ doped TiO2 sample could be a potential photo anode for DSSCs applications.