Direct and seamless coupling of TiO2 nanotube photonic crystal to dye-sensitized solar cell: a single-step approach

A TiO(2) nanotube layer with a periodic structure is used as a photonic crystal to greatly enhance light harvesting in TiO(2) nanotube-based dye-sensitized solar cells. Such a tube-on-tube structure fabricated by a single-step approach facilitates good physical contact, easy electrolyte infiltration, and efficient charge transport. An increase of over 50% in power conversion efficiency is obtained in comparison to reference cells without a photonic crystal layer (under similar total thickness and dye loading).     

碳纳米管在染料敏化太阳电池光阳极中的应用

TiO2作为光阳极薄膜材料,广泛应用于染料敏化太阳电池(DSC)中.在TiO2多孔薄膜中掺碳纳米管,不仅可以加快光生电子在TiO2薄膜内的传输,同时也可以增加电子寿命,从而提高染料敏化太阳电池的效率.本文综述了近年来在TiO2中掺碳纳米管的研究成果,简要介绍了碳纳米管在DSC中的作用;归纳了掺杂于TiO2光阳极的碳纳米...     

Hierarchical Rutile TiO2 Flower Cluster‐Based High Efficiency Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells via Direct Hydrothermal Growth on Conducting Substrates

Dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on hierarchical rutile TiO₂ flower clusters prepared by a facile, one‐pot hydrothermal process exhibit a high efficiency. Complex yet appealing rutile TiO₂ flower films are, for the first time, directly hydrothermally grown on a transparent conducting fluorine‐doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate. The thickness and density of as‐grown flower clusters can be readily tuned by tailoring growth parameters, such as growth time, the addition of cations of different valence and size, initial concentrations of precursor and cation, growth temperature, and acidity. Notably, the small lattice mismatch between the FTO substrate and rutile TiO₂ renders the epitaxial growth of a compact rutile TiO₂ layer on the FTO glass. Intriguingly, these TiO₂ flower clusters can then be exploited as photoanodes to produce DSSCs, yielding a power conversion efficiency of 2.94% despite their rutile nature, which is further increased to 4.07% upon the TiCl₄ treatment.     

Carbon Nanotubes for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

As one type of emerging photovoltaic cell, dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are an attractive potential source of renewable energy due to their eco–friendliness, ease of fabrication, and cost effectiveness. However, in DSSCs, the rarity and high cost of some electrode materials (transparent conducting oxide and platinum) and the inefficient performance caused by slow electron transport, poor light‐harvesting efficiency, and significant charge recombination are critical issues. Recent research has shown that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising candidates to overcome these issues due to their unique electrical, optical, chemical, physical, as well as catalytic properties. This article provides a comprehensive review of the research that has focused on the application of CNTs and their hybrids in transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs), in semiconducting layers, and in counter electrodes of DSSCs. At the end of this review, some important research directions for the future use of CNTs in DSSCs are also provided.     

Nb2O5包覆对TiO2纳米阵列/上转换发光复合结构柔性染料敏化太阳能电池性能的影响

采用水热法与旋涂法, 成功制备出基于钛网基底的TiO₂纳米线阵列/Yb-Er-F掺杂TiO₂上转换发光纳米粒子(TNWAs/YEF-TiO₂-UCNPs)复合结构光阳极, 并将其组装成柔性染料敏化太阳能电池(DSSC)。探讨了Yb-Er-F掺杂TiO₂上转换发光纳米粒子的光学性能对复合结构DSSC光电转换性能的影响, 在此基础上系统研究了不同NbCl₅浓度包覆对复合结构形貌和DSSCs性能的影响。结果表明：Yb-Er-F掺杂TiO₂上转换发光纳米粒子的引入可以增大光阳极的入射光利用范围, 但同时也会增加其内部的电子复合。通过Nb₂O₅纳米粒子层的包覆可以在半导体/电解液界面形成能量势垒, 增加复合阻抗R_rec, 抑制电子复合; 提高电子收集效率η_ec和光生电子寿命τ_e, 进一步增大短路电流和开路电位, 最终提高电池的光电转换效率。采用20 mmol/L的NbCl₅乙醇溶液旋涂制备的Nb₂O₅@TNWAs/YEF-TiO₂-UCNPs复合结构柔性DSSC获得了最佳的光电转换效率(6.89%), 比未经包覆的TNWAs/YEF-TiO₂-UCNPs复合结构提升了24.3%。     

Ultrafast Flame Annealing of TiO2 Paste for Fabricating Dye‐Sensitized and Perovskite Solar Cells with Enhanced Efficiency

Mesoporous TiO₂ nanoparticle (NP) films are broadly used as electrodes in photoelectrochemical cells, dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), and perovskite solar cells (PSCs). State‐of‐the‐art mesoporous TiO₂ NP films for these solar cells are fabricated by annealing TiO₂ paste‐coated fluorine‐doped tin oxide glass in a box furnace at 500 °C for ≈30 min. Here, the use of a nontraditional reactor, i.e., flame, is reported for the high throughput and ultrafast annealing of TiO₂ paste (≈1 min). This flame‐annealing method, compared to conventional furnace annealing, exhibits three distinct benefits. First, flame removes polymeric binders in the initial TiO₂ paste more completely because of its high temperature (≈1000 °C). Second, flame induces strong interconnections between TiO₂ nanoparticles without affecting the underlying transparent conducting oxide substrate. Third, the flame‐induced carbothermic reduction on the TiO₂ surface facilitates charge injection from the dye/perovskite to TiO₂. Consequently, when the flame‐annealed mesoporous TiO₂ film is used to fabricate DSSCs and PSCs, both exhibit enhanced charge transport and higher power conversion efficiencies than those fabricated using furnace‐annealed TiO₂ films. Finally, when the ultrafast flame‐annealing method is combined with a fast dye‐coating method to fabricate DSSC devices, its total fabrication time is reduced from over 3 h to ≈10 min.     

n型层对柔性衬底微晶硅太阳电池特性的影响

在不锈钢柔性衬底上采用等离子体化学气相沉积(PECVD)方法制备了不同结构的n型硅薄膜,测试了在其上生长的微晶硅太阳电池的电学输出特性.发现太阳电池的开路电压随n型层的硅烷浓度线形变化,短路电流密度则存在一个最优值,这与n型层引起的本征层中的孵化层和结构演变有关.将优化后的n型层应用于不锈钢柔性衬底的非晶硅/微晶硅叠层...