@article{jmpc2018611,
author={{Nguu, John and Nyongesa, Francis and Musembi, Robinson and Aduda, Bernard},
title={Electrophoretic Deposition and Characterization of TiO<SUB>2</SUB>/Nb<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>5</SUB> Composite Thin Films for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells},
journal={Journal of Materials Physics and Chemistry},
volume={6},
number={1},
pages={1--8},
year={2018},
url={http://pubs.sciepub.com/jmpc/6/1/1},
issn={2333-4444},
abstract={In this study, Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) technique was used to fabricate TiO<SUB>2</SUB>/Nb<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>5</SUB> composite thin films on FTO coated glass for application as photoelectrodes in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC). A TiO<SUB>2</SUB>/Nb<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>5</SUB> ratio of 1:1 was used in a 2-propanol suspension solution with a solid loading of 0.25g/L. Optical investigations showed that the film with thickness of 5.5 &#956;m deposited at 35.0 V for 90.0 s had the highest transmittance of 55.0 % at a wavelength (&#955;) of 1,300 nm. The optical band gap energy (<i>E</i><SUB><i>g</i></SUB>) was 3.884 eV and was found to be dependent on the annealing time. The solar cell fabricated from this film had an open circuit voltage (<i>V</i><SUB><i>OC</i></SUB>) of 0.66 V, fill factor (<i>FF</i>) of 57.0%, short current density (<i>J</i><SUB><i>SC</i></SUB>) of 5.25 mA/cm<SUP>2</SUP> and photo conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.0%. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) analysis indicate that the DSSC device with thinner photoelectrodes have more efficient electron transport in the photoanode compared to thicker photoelectrodes to achieve higher conversion efficiencies.},
doi={10.12691/jmpc-6-1-1}
publisher={Science and Education Publishing}
}