Multifunctional Composite Photoanode Containing a TiO2 Microarchitecture with Near-Infrared Upconversion Nanoparticles for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Incorporating functionalized TiO2 microarchitectures or upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) into photoanodes is deemed to be two effective ways to boost the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Nonetheless, studies combining functionalized TiO2 and UCNPs for the development of composite photoanode films in DSSCs still remain scarce. In view of this, we present a facile strategy for the design and preparation of a multifunctional composite photoanode containing P25 nanoparticles, peanut-like (PN) TiO2 microstructures, and NaYF4:Yb,Er@NaYF4:Nd@SiO2 core–shell–shell UCNPs. It is found that the DSSC containing a dual-functional photoanode using PN TiO2 as a light-scattering layer and P25 as a transparent layer can achieve a photovoltaic efficiency of 9.01%, presenting a 26.37% enhancement over the blank device. More importantly, the addition of UCNPs can further enhance the photoelectric performance of the DSSC device, realizing an optimal photovoltaic efficiency of 10.58%, one of the highest reported efficiencies for UCNP-based DSSCs with the common N719 photosensitizer. Such a remarkable improvement is mainly due to a synergetic effect of the UCNPs absorbing the near-infrared light and of the PN TiO2 presenting excellent light-scattering potency. Specifically, steady-state experiments reveal that the best-performing device shows only a small efficiency loss after 120 h of testing, exhibiting good device stability. The present work demonstrates the importance of composite photoanodes in enhancing the photovoltaic performances of solar cells.