Fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells based on the electrospun TiO۲nanofibres sensitized by the cocktail of natural dyes

Here, we demonstrated that outstanding electrical and morphological characteristics of TiO۲ nanofibressensitized by the cocktail of natural dyes can effectively improve and stabilize the dye-sensitized solarcells (DSSCs). The TiO۲ nanofibres were fabricated using a cost-effective and applicable electrospinningtechnique. The FESEM results demonstrated that the continuous bead-free nanofibres were successfullyfabricated, which indicates good control of the electrospinning conditions. Based on the BET results, thetransformation of nanoparticles to nanofibres increased the BET surface area and pore size. Then, a facileone-step approach was employed to fabricate TiO۲ nanofibres-based DSSCs that produced a highly porousnetwork of TiO۲ without the nanofibre layer undergoing multiple cracks upon calcination. Based on thephotovoltaic results, the DSSCs fabricated by the electrospun TiO۲ nanofibres showed the highest 𝐼𝑠𝑐 , 𝑉𝑜𝑐 ,and 𝜂 of ۱.۸۰ mA, ۰.۴۰ V, and ۱.۲۴%, respectively. This is because that the one-dimensional morphologyof electrospun nanofibres provides better charge conduction due to the combined effect of the reducedgrain boundaries and a higher specific surface area. The results also showed that the DSSC based on theTiO۲ nanofibres retained about ۶۳% of its initial efficiency after ۱۴ days, while DSSCs based on the TiO۲nanoparticles maintained about ۲۷%, respectively.