Abstract
In dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), the charge recombination at the TiO 2 /dye/electrolyte interface greatly influences the photoelectron conversion efficiency. Hybrid semiconductor materials with matched band potentials are designed to reduce the charge recombination. In this study, SrTiO 3 /TiO 2 hybrid-structure was synthesized by using TiO 2 nanoparticles as template in a hydrothermal, showing a negative shift in the flat band potential. The DSSC with the SrTiO 3 /TiO 2 anode exhibits an increased photovoltage and a reduced photocurrent. The suppression of charge recombination at the TiO 2 /dye/electrolyte interface was observed in the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, causing an improvement in the photovoltage. However, the SrTiO 3 /TiO 2 system shows an obstructed electrons injection from the dye to SrTiO 3 /TiO 2 , limiting the photocurrent performance. The photoelectrochemical properties of the SrTiO 3 / TiO 2 system are discussed in detail herein. © 2013 The Chemical Society Located in Taipei & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.