The Effect Of Annealing On The Photoconductivity Of Carbon Nanofiber/Tio2 Core-Shell Nanowires For Use In Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Electrical transport properties and photoresponse of individual TiO2-coated carbon nanofibers were studied in an attempt to elucidate the limiting factors of core-shell nanowire-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The role of the semiconductor shell microstructure was investigated by comparing as grown and thermally annealed samples. Steady state I-V and transient photoconductivity measurements suggest that improving the microstructure leads to reduced resistivity and contact resistance, a decrease in charge traps, improved surface stoichiometry for dye adsorption, and reduced absorption of visible light by the semiconductor, all of which may improve nanowire-based DSSC performance. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3464965]