Mesoporous TiO2 single crystals delivering enhanced mobility and optoelectronic device performance
Top Cited Papers
- 6 March 2013
- journal article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature
- Vol. 495 (7440), 215-219
- https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11936
Abstract
Mesoporous ceramics and semiconductors enable low-cost solar power, solar fuel, (photo)catalyst and electrical energy storage technologies. State-of-the-art, printable high-surface-area electrodes are fabricated from thermally sintered pre-formed nanocrystals. Mesoporosity provides the desired highly accessible surfaces but many applications also demand long-range electronic connectivity and structural coherence. A mesoporous single-crystal (MSC) semiconductor can meet both criteria. Here we demonstrate a general synthetic method of growing semiconductor MSCs of anatase TiO2 based on seeded nucleation and growth inside a mesoporous template immersed in a dilute reaction solution. We show that both isolated MSCs and ensembles incorporated into films have substantially higher conductivities and electron mobilities than does nanocrystalline TiO2. Conventional nanocrystals, unlike MSCs, require in-film thermal sintering to reinforce electronic contact between particles, thus increasing fabrication cost, limiting the use of flexible substrates and precluding, for instance, multijunction solar cell processing. Using MSC films processed entirely below 150 °C, we have fabricated all-solid-state, low-temperature sensitized solar cells that have 7.3 per cent efficiency, the highest efficiency yet reported. These high-surface-area anatase single crystals will find application in many different technologies, and this generic synthetic strategy extends the possibility of mesoporous single-crystal growth to a range of functional ceramics and semiconductors.Keywords
This publication has 31 references indexed in Scilit:
- Charge Transport Limitations in Self-Assembled TiO2 Photoanodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar CellsThe Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2013
- Crystal facet engineering of semiconductor photocatalysts: motivations, advances and unique propertiesChemical Communications, 2011
- Single‐Crystal‐like Titania MesocagesAngewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2010
- Nanostructured Calcite Single Crystals with Gyroid MorphologiesAdvanced Materials, 2009
- Mesoporous Monocrystalline TiO2 and Its Solid-State Electrochemical PropertiesChemistry of Materials, 2009
- Anatase TiO2 single crystals with a large percentage of reactive facetsNature, 2008
- Crystallization of Mesoporous Metal OxidesChemistry of Materials, 2007
- Growth of porous single-crystal Cr2O3 in a 3-D mesopore systemChemical Communications, 2005
- Design, Synthesis, and Application of Amphiphilic Ruthenium Polypyridyl Photosensitizers in Solar Cells Based on Nanocrystalline TiO2 FilmsLangmuir, 2002
- A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO2 filmsNature, 1991