Photoelectrochemical solar cell based on surfactant mediated rutile TiO₂ nanorods

Rutile titanium dioxide nanorods have been synthesized by a simple and cost-effective hydrothermal deposition method onto the conducting glass substrates. In order to study the effect of surfactants on the growth of TiO₂, different surfactants like ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, polyvinylpyrrolidone, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) are used. These films are characterized for their morphological, structural, compositional, optical and electrochemical properties using field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoluminescence and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. FE-SEM images showed the formation of densely packed nanorods for SDS mediated TiO₂. XRD patterns show the formation of polycrystalline TiO₂ with the tetragonal crystal structure possessing rutile phase. The chemical composition and valence states of the constituent elements were analysed by XPS. The films were photoelectrochemically active with the maximum current density of 378 µA/cm² with enhanced photovoltage of 615 mV for the sample prepared with SDS surfactant.