In this research TiO2 nanocrystals of 20 nm size were hydrothermally grown in acidic autoclaving pH. Then they were well-dispersed in isopropanol solvent to make a uniform TiO2 sol. This sol was deposited on FTO glass substrates by a modified electrophoretic method. The deposition voltage and time were altered in the range of 5.0–9.0 V and 2.5–20 min, respectively. The nanocrystalline TiO2 layers were deposited in several successive 1-min steps. The TiO2 sol was stirred in short time intervals. The density and width of the cracks on the surface of TiO2 layer could be controlled by deposition parameters. These layers were applied as the photoanode of the dye sensitized solar cells after the dye loading process. The results demonstrated that a maximum efficiency of 6.5% was achieved for the cell with a photoanode prepared in optimized deposition voltage and time. This result was achieved without applying binder materials and exertion of mechanical pressure on the photoanode layer.
