Photovoltaic properties of ordered mesoporous silica thin film electrodes encapsulating titanium dioxide particles

SBA-15 mesoporous silica thin films encapsulating Degussa P-25 TiO2 particles were synthesized using a block copolymer templating method. The films were dip-coated onto ITO conducting glass substrates to allow for photovoltaic analysis. Structural characterization of the films was performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrodes were placed in photovoltaic cells and irradiated with long wavelength UV (∼365 nm) radiation. Photovoltaic efficiencies were determined to be in the range 8.0 × 10−4 to 0.26%. An increase in efficiency of approximately 44% was found for mesoporous silica samples encapsulating TiO2 particles over non-porous silica films containing TiO2.