78 Int. J. Nanotechnol., Vol. 15, Nos. 1/2/3, 2018
Copyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
One-step hydrothermal synthesis of titanium
dioxide decorated on reduced graphene oxide for
dye-sensitised solar cells application
Foo Wah Low, Chin Wei Lai
and Sharifah Bee Abd Hamid*
Nanotechnology & Catalysis Research Centre (NANOCAT),
Institute of Postgraduate Studies (IPS),
University of Malaya,
3rd Floor, Block A,
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Email: raymondlow85@gmail.com
Email: cwlai@um.edu.my
Email: sharifahbee@um.edu.my
*Corresponding author
Abstract: Dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs) are one of the promising
prospects for efficient renewable resources. To bring DSSCs to the point
of commercial readiness and viability in terms of performance and cost,
substantial research on the development of a high efficiency DSSCs system is
necessary. Our recent studies have indicated that a maximum conductivity
of 29.1 µS/cm and conversion efficiency of 4.76% under 1.5 AM condition
was successfully achieved from 0.2 wt% TiO
2
loaded on reduced graphene
oxide (rGO) forming a nanocomposite film, which is approximately twice or
three times higher than that of pure rGO nanosheets and anatase TiO
2
film. The
findings were mainly attributed to the fact that rGO nanosheets could further
increase the photo-induced electron transportation rate and minimise
the recombination losses within the TiO
2
lattice in this binary hybrid
photoelectrode.
Keywords: reduced graphene oxide; rGO; titanium dioxide; rGO-TiO
2
nanocomposite; dye-sensitised solar cells; DSSCs.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Low, F.W., Lai, C.W. and
Abd Hamid, S.B. (2018) ‘One-step hydrothermal synthesis of titanium
dioxide decorated on reduced graphene oxide for dye-sensitised solar cells
application’, Int. J. Nanotechnol., Vol. 15, Nos. 1/2/3, pp.78–92.
Biographical notes: Foo Wah Low received his Master Degree in Institute of
Nanoelectronic Engineering from Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) in
2013. Currently, he is a PhD student with full time research in Nanotechnology
& Catalysis Research Centre (NANOCAT), University of Malaya (UM). His
research interests include material science, environmental science, and solar
panel system.
Chin Wei Lai is a Senior Lecturer in the Nanotechnology & Catalysis Research
Centre, University of Malaya. He received his PhD (2013) from School of
Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, University of Science Malaysia