Improvement of Dye-sensitized Solar Cells by Using Compact and Pressed Layer of TiO2

Introducing a TiO2 compact layer and a pressed TiO2 layer into DSSC devices improves the power conversion efficiency of the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). In this study, spin coating is used to deposit the TiO2 compact layer on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass, while screen printing is used to deposit the mesoporous TiO2 layer. The mesoporous TiO2 layer is pressurized by a hydraulic press to form a pressed TiO2 layer. The DSSC photoanode structure is composed of a mesoporous TiO2 layer and a pressed TiO2 layer on a TiO2 compact layer. The lifetime of electrons for DSSC with a pressed TiO2 layer and mesoporous-TiO2 layer are 8.217 and 6.287 ms. The current density-voltage characteristics indicate that the efficiency of the power conversion of the DSSC device with the pressed TiO2 layer and the TiO2 compact layer increases by 4.09 to 5.00%, compared with the mesoporous-TiO2 layer.