Vertically Aligned Single Crystal TiO2 Nanowire Arrays Grown Directly on Transparent Conducting Oxide Coated Glass: Synthesis Details and Applications

Abstract

Single-crystal one-dimensional (1D) semiconductor architectures are important in materials-based applications requiring a large surface area, morphological control, and superior charge transport. Titania has widespread utility in applications including photocatalysis, photochromism, photovoltaics, and gas sensors. While considerable efforts have focused on the preparation of 1D TiO₂, no methods have been available to grow crystalline nanowire arrays directly onto transparent conducting oxide (TCO) substrates, greatly limiting the performance of TiO₂ photoelectrochemical devices. Herein, we present a straightforward low temperature method to prepare single crystal rutile TiO₂ nanowire arrays up to 5 μm long on TCO glass via a non-polar solvent/hydrophilic substrate interfacial reaction under mild hydrothermal conditions. The as-prepared densely packed nanowires grow vertically oriented from the TCO glass substrate along the (110) crystal plane with a preferred (001) orientation. In a dye sensitized solar cell, N719 dye, using TiO₂ nanowire arrays 2−3 μm long we achieve an AM 1.5 photoconversion efficiency of 5.02%.