IMPROVING PHOTOCURRENT DENSITY GENERATION BY POROUS TIO2 FILMS MODIFIED WITH POLYSTYRENE PARTICLES

The development of porous TiO₂ thin films is of significant interest for photovoltaic and photocatalytic applications owing to their ability to enhance light utilization. Herein, porous TiO₂ films were prepared using 350 nm polystyrene (PS) particles as sacrificial templates, and the effect of PS concentration on photocurrent generation was systematically evaluated. Morphological and optical analyses confirmed the successful formation of porous structures with improved light-harvesting characteristics. Typically, the optimized PS-modified TiO₂ film exhibited a photocurrent density of ~118 μA/cm² , corresponding to an enhancement of ~20.5% relative to bare TiO2 film. Integrating sphere measurements revealed increased total absorbance for the porous films, indicating that the improved photocurrent density generation originates from enhanced light trapping within the porous surface. This work highlights the importance of porosity engineering and demonstrates that PS-assisted templating is an effective approach for enhancing the performance of TiO2 -based photoactive thin films.

1. Tasić, N., Stanojević, Z.M., Branković, Z., Lačnjevac, U., Ribić, V., Žunić, M., Novaković, T., Podlogar, M., and Branković, G. Mesoporous films prepared from synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles and their application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Electrochimica Acta, 210, 606–614 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2016.05.179

2. Hernández-Granados, A., Corpus-Mendoza, A.N., Moreno-Romero, P.M., Rodríguez-Castañeda, C.A., Pascoe-Sussoni, J.E., Castelo-González, O.A., Menchaca-Campos, E.C., Escorcia-García, J., and Hu, H. Optically uniform thin films of mesoporous TiO2 for perovskite solar cell applications. Optical Materials, 88, 695–703 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2018.12.044

3. Ishchenko, O.M., Lamblin, G., Guillot, J., Infante, I.C., Guennou, M., Adjeroud, N., Fechete, I., Garin, F., Turek, P., and Lenoble, D. Mesoporous TiO2 anatase films for enhanced photocatalytic activity under UV and visible light. RSC Advances, 10, 38233–38243 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ra06455f

4. Isah, K.U., Jolayemi, B.J., Ahmadu, U., Kimpa, M.I., and Alu, N. Plasmonic effect of silver nanoparticles intercalated into mesoporous betalain-sensitized-TiO2 film electrodes on photovoltaic performance of dyesensitized solar cells. Materials for Renewable and Sustainable Energy, 5, 10 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40243-016-0075-z

5. Khamkhash, L., Em, S., Molkenova, A., Hwang, Y.-H., and T.Sh. Atabaev. Crack-free and thicknesscontrollable deposition of TiO2-rGO thin films for solar harnessing devices. Coatings, 12, 218 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12020218

6. Gartner, M., Szekeres, A., Stroescu, H., Mitrea, D., and Covei, M. Advanced nanostructured coatings based on doped TiO2 for various applications. Molecules, 28, 7828 (2023). https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28237828

7. Liu, Y.-C., Lu, Y.-F., Zeng, Y.-Z., Liao, C.-H., Chung, J.-C., and Wei, T.-Y. Nanostructured mesoporous titanium dioxide thin film prepared by sol-gel method for dye-sensitized solar cell. International Journal of Photoenergy, 2011, 619069 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/619069

8. Karimi, M., Seddighi, S., and Mohammadpour, R. Nanostructured versus flat compact electrode for triboelectric nanogenerators at high humidity. Scientific Reports, 11, 16191 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/ s41598-021-95621-3

9. Choi, H., Stathatos, E., Dionysiou, D.D. Sol-gel preparation of mesoporous photocatalytic TiO2 films and TiO2/Al2O3 composite membranes for environmental applications. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 63. 60–67 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2005.09.012

10. Potts, S., Bolton, R., Dunlop, T., Lacey, K., Worsley, C., Watson, T., and Jewell, E. Enhancing the performance of the mesoporous TiO2 film in printed perovskite photovoltaics through high‐speed imaging and ink rheology techniques. Advanced Functional Materials, 34, 2401959 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202401959

11. Ngo, P.H.T., Vo, T.A.N., Vo, K.V.L., Nguyen, V.S., and Wei, T.-C. Electrodeposited mesoporous TiO2 thin films and their application as the scalable electron transport layer for perovskite solar modules. Electrochimica Acta, 503, 144802 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2024.144802

12. Rustembekkyzy, K., Zholdasbekov, A., Abduvalov, A., Kaikanov, M., and Atabaev, T.Sh. Porositydependent photoelectrochemical activity of double-layered TiO2 thin films deposited by spin-coating method. RSC Advances, 13, 34482–34488 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ra06914a

13. Ito, S., Chen, P., Comte, P., Nazeeruddin, M.K., Liska, P., Péchy, P., and Grätzel, M. Fabrication of screen‐printing pastes from TiO2 powders for dye‐sensitised solar cells. Progress in Photovoltaics Research and Applications, 15, 603–612 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.768

14. Haque, S., Mendes, M.J., Sanchez-Sobrado, O., Águas, H., Fortunato, E., and Martins, R. Photonicstructured TiO2 for high-efficiency, flexible and stable perovskite solar cells. Nano Energy, 59, 91–101 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.02.023