Mesoporous wide bandgap semiconductor electrodes have been widely studied for solar energy conversion, especially in the context of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and related systems. The knowledge of their band edge energies, trap state distribution and electron density in various electronic states are essential in order to optimize the photoanode performance and to obtain a detailed understanding of the associated electron-transfer processes. This dissertation focuses on spectroelectrochemical and electrochemical analysis of the mesoporous phoanodes to determine the band edge position, energy distribution of the electronic states and also their spatial locations. Also presented here is a preparation method of mesoporous strontium titanate (SrTiO3) photoanode and a detailed study of its energetics and the charge distribution. The goal of this work is to explore the pros and cons of SrTiO3 material as a photoanode material in DSSC.
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