Titanium dioxide nanoparticles biosynthesis for dye sensitized solar cells application: review

Abstract

The synthesis of metallic nanoparticles is an active area of academic, application research as well and nanotechnology. Different chemical and physical procedures that are currently used for synthesis of metallic nanoparticles present many problems. These problems include generation of hazardous by-products, use of toxic solvents, and high energy consumption. Biological synthesis of nanoparticles by bacterial, fungi, yeast, and plant extract is the best alternative to develop cost effective, less labor, non-toxic using more green approach, environmentally benign nanoparticles synthesis to avoid adverse effects in many nanomaterials applications. Among the various metal oxide nanoparticles, titanium dioxide nanoparticles have wide applications for dye-sensitized solar cells, in air and water purification, due to their potential oxidation strength, high photo stability and non-toxicity. Till now, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is the cornerstone semiconductors for dye-sensitized (DSSC) nanostructured electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells. This paper reports an overview of synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles by biological means for dye-sensitised solar cell application.