Design and Fabrication of TiO2 NP/ NM Nanocomposite as Photoanode for Solar Cells

This study presents the preparation of a nanocomposite compound from multi-walled carbon tubes with graphene in a ratio (1:1) and adding it to (TiO2) and then preparing the resulting compound as photoanode for the DSSC cell after treating it with (WS2QD) by hydrothermal method and comparing it with the DSSC cell. Based on (TiO2) as photoanode, the crystal structure of the basic materials and the prepared nanocompositeWS2QD/TiO2-NC have been studied using X-ray diffraction XRD, as well as the SEM and TEM examination. The physical and chemical properties have proved that the nanocomposite (WS2QD/TiO2-NC) has been produced within a nanoscale. The regular and pure WS2QD particles are successfully installed on the nanocomposite TiO2-NC and exhibit a high surface area and pore size (10µm) when compared to pure WS2QD. The nanocomposite WS2QD/TiO2-NC compound exhibits a PCE conversion efficiency (9.45%), which is relatively high if compared to Pure TiO2 (8.147%). The reason for improving the PCE of (WS2QD/TiO2-NC) is that the presence of MWCNTs and Graphen in the compound reduces the time to reconnect the electron-hole pair and efficiently stabilizes the WS2QD assembly to expose the entire active edges. On the other hand,  giving an increase in electrical conductivity facilitates electron transfer inside the compound.  Also, the presence of TiO2 improves the ability of the compound to absorb the photon and thus increases the photoelectric stimulation.