TiO2 thin films (1 µm) with ordered porosity used as high performance photoelectrode in DSSC

Mesoporous anatase thin films are very promising materials to act as electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells. Randomly oriented nanocrystalline TiO2 particles are usually used to prepare photoelectrodes with a thickness of 10-15 µm. Templated-assisted dip-coating techniques are used to obtain thin films with ordered porosity. The use of different templates influences the film porosity in terms of long-range order, percentage of porosity, pore size and pores connectivity. The photovoltaic performances of the samples have been evaluated. Such mesostructured films are compared in terms of photovoltaic performance with TiO2 nanoparticles films, generally used in DSSC.