Temperature-induced Modifications in Tungsten Oxide Nanoparticles and their Effect on the Efficiency of Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

This study investigates the synthesis and characterization of tungsten oxide (WO3) nanoparticles, with a particular focus on the influence of varying annealing temperatures (100 degreesC, 150 degreesC, and 200 degreesC) on their properties and performance in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The WO3 nanoparticles were synthesized using a simple chemical method and characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results indicated that higher annealing temperatures led to an increase in crystalline size and improved crystallinity. The band gap energies were found to increase slightly with higher temperatures, influencing the optical absorption properties. XRD analyses revealed temperature-dependent morphological changes, with particle sizes ranging from 38.1 nm to 46.9 nm. The photovoltaic performance of DSSCs incorporating WO3 nanoparticles demonstrated enhanced efficiency with increasing annealing temperature, achieving a maximum efficiency of 0.0093% at 200 degreesC. These findings provide valuable insights into optimizing WO3 nanoparticles for diverse applications, particularly in energy conversion technologies.