Nanostructured nanorod arrays presenting TiO2 nanorods/poly(3-hexylthiophene) for solar cells application

We have fabricated inverted heterojunction solar cell devices incorporating titanium dioxide nanorod/poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) rod arrays using melt-assisted anodic alumina oxide template. Using transmission electron microscopy and conductance atomic force microscopy, we revealed that phase-separated TiO2 rich (n-type) and P3HT rich (p-type) regions presents in these rod arrays. The optimized composite rod array structure had a higher hole mobility than that of the blend film consisting of TiO2 nanorod and P3HT as determined by fitting the dark J-V curves into the space charge-limited current model. The more efficient carrier transport of the device incorporating the nanorod arrays provided it with both a higher short-circuit current density and power conversion efficiency.     

Enhanced photoelectrochemical properties of TiO2 nanorod arrays decorated with CdS nanoparticles

TiO₂ nanorod arrays (TiO₂ NRAs) sensitized with CdS nanoparticles were fabricated via successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR), and TiO₂ NRAs were obtained by oxidizing Ti NRAs obtained through oblique angle deposition. The TiO₂ NRAs decorated with CdS nanoparticles exhibited excellent photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic properties under visible light, and the one decorated with 20 SILAR cycles CdS nanoparticles shows the best performance. This can be attributed to the enhanced separation of electrons and holes by forming heterojunctions of CdS nanoparticles and TiO₂ NRAs. This provides a promising way to fabricate the material for solar energy conversion and wastewater degradation.     

Polymer solar cells with a TiO2:Ag layer

Photovoltaic (PV) polymer solar cells with Ag and titanium dioxide were fabricated to improve the PV performance by increasing the amount of Ag in TiO₂ (by 3, 5, 7, and 10%). Sol–gel method was used to obtain amorphous or crystalline form of titanium dioxide layers. The solar cells with poly(3-hexylthiophene) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester active layer in two various positions of titanium dioxide in device were tested. Higher PV performance was received by introducing TiO₂ with 5% of Ag between ITO and PEDOT:PSS in device and by heating the layer at 130 °C. The viscosity of applied PEDOT:PSS strongly influences the values of power conversion efficiency of the constructed polymer devices with titanium dioxide.     

Sputtered highly ordered TiO2 nanorod arrays and their applications as the electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells

For the first time, the TiO2 nanorod arrays have been prepared on ITO substrates at room temperature by dc reactive magnetron sputtering technique. These TiO2 nanorods have a preferred orientation along the (220) direction and are perpendicular to the ITO substrate. Both the X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements show that the highly ordered TiO2 nanorod arrays have an anatase crystal structure. The diameter of the nanorod varies from 30 nm to 100 nm and the nanorod length can be varied from several hundred nanometers to several micrometers depending on the deposition time. The TiO2 nanorod arrays with about 3 micrometers length have been used as an electrode for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Short-circuit photocurrent density, open-circuit voltage, fill factor and light-to-electricity conversion efficiency at 100 mW/cm2 light intensity are estimated to be 12.76 mA/cm2, 0.65 V, 0.63 and 5.25%, respectively, for the DSSC made of the TiO2 nanorods.     

TiO2纳米碗阵列作为电子传输层构筑高效率彩色钙钛矿太阳能电池（英文）

钙钛矿太阳能电池的飞速发展及其在构筑一体化和可穿戴器件中的应用前景激发了人们对于彩色钙钛矿太阳能电池的浓厚兴趣,但如何将可见光宽波段吸收且具有高吸光系数的钙钛矿材料构筑成高性能的彩色太阳能电池仍是一个挑战.本文利用TiO2纳米碗阵列作为结构化的电子传输层,并在纳米碗内均匀填充一层CH3NH3PbI3钙钛矿薄膜,成功制备了具有鲜艳结构色的钙钛矿@TiO2纳米碗阵列薄膜,其结构色具有显著的角度依赖特征.通过路易斯酸碱加合物法制备得到基于醋酸铅的新型晶态中间体薄膜,使得高质量的CH3NH3PbI3钙钛矿薄膜能够在纳米碗内均匀填充.利用该钙钛矿@TiO2纳米碗薄膜可以制备出具有鲜艳结构色的平面异质结钙钛矿太阳能电池,其最高光电转化效率可以达到16.94%,平均效率达到15.47%,均高于现已报道的彩色钙钛矿太阳能电池的转化效率.     

CdS-sensitized ZnO nanorod arrays coated with TiO2 layer for visible light photoelectrocatalysis

A novel ZnO/CdS/TiO₂ nanorod array composite structure was fabricated by depositing CdS-sensitized layer onto ZnO nanorod arrays via chemical bathing deposition and subsequently coated by TiO₂ protection layer via a vacuum dip-coating process. The films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrum, and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. For the films severed as the photoanodes, linear sweep voltammetry and transient photocurrent (i _ph) were investigated in a three-electrode system. The photoelectrocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The results show that the oriented ZnO nanorods are adhered by relatively uniform CdS-sensitized layer and coated with TiO₂ layer. Both the coated and uncoated CdS-sensitized ZnO nanorod arrays exhibit the visible light response and the photoelectrocatalytic activity on the degradation of MB under visible light irradiation. The ZnO/CdS/TiO₂ nanorod array film possesses stable and superior photoelectrocatalytic performance owing to the TiO₂ thin layer protecting the CdS from photocorrosion.     

Growth and comparison of different morphologic ZnO nanorod arrays by a simple aqueous solution route

A simple aqueous solution route has been successfully employed to prepare large-scale arrays of ZnO nanorods on the zinc foil without the assistance of any template, oxidant or coating of metal oxide layers. It is found that the growth of ZnO nanorod arrays with different densities, diameters and morphologies is dependent on the ammonia concentration and zinc precursor. The different morphologies of the ZnO nanostructures attained with or without adding Zn²⁺-contained salt in the alkaline solution are compared in the paper. The possible growth mechanism concerning the growth of the different ZnO nanocrystal morphologies is also discussed.     

In situ growth of single-crystal TiO2 nanorod arrays on Ti substrate: Controllable synthesis and photoelectrochemical water splitting

Despite one-dimensional (1D) semiconductor nanostructure arrays attracting increasing attention due to their many advantages,highly ordered TiO2 nanorod arrays (TiO2 NR) are rarely grown in situ on Ti substrates.Herein,a feasible method to fabricate TiO2 NRs on Ti substrates by using a through-mask anodization process is reported.Self-ordered anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) overlaid on Ti substrate was used as a nanotemplate to induce the growth of TiO2 NRs.The NR length and diameter could be controlled by adjusting anodization parameters such as electrochemical anodization voltage,anodization time and temperature,and electrolyte composition.Furthermore,according to the proposed NR formation mechanism,the anodized Ti ions migrate and deposit in the AAO nanochannels to form Ti(OH)4 or amorphous TiO2 NRs under electric field,owing to the confinement effect of the template.Photoelectrochemical tests indicated that,after hydrogenation,the TiO2 NRs presented higher photocurrent density under simulated sunlight and visible light illuminations,suggesting their potential use in photoelectrochemical water splitting,photocatalysis,solar cells,and sensors.     

微乳液水热法低温制备TiO2纳米棒阵列及光电化学性能研究

利用微乳液水热法降低反应能,在透明导电玻璃衬底上低温合成出金红石相TiO2纳米棒阵列.利用X射线衍射、扫描电镜、紫外-可见光、阻抗谱等手段对样品进行结构形貌表征和光电化学性能测试.结果 表明:微乳液体系的加入可有效地降低体系表面能,诱发前驱物发生水解缩聚反应,促进TiO2晶粒在溶液-液相-固相三相界面成核和生长,实现低...     

Novel carbon-doped TiO2 nanotube arrays with high aspect ratios for efficient solar water splitting

The photocatalytic splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen using solar light is a potentially clean and renewable source for hydrogen fuel.(1,2) There has been extensive investigation into metal-oxide semiconductors such as TiO(2), WO(3), and Fe(2)O(3), which can be used as photoanodes in thin-film form.(3-5) Of the materials being developed for photoanodes, TiO(2) remains one of the most promising because of its low cost, chemical inertness, and photostability.(6) However, the widespread technological use of TiO(2) is hindered by its low utilization of solar energy in the visible region. In this study, we report the preparation of vertically grown carbon-doped TiO(2) (TiO(2-x)C(x)) nanotube arrays with high aspect ratios for maximizing the photocleavage of water under white-light irradiation. The synthesized TiO(2-x)C(x) nanotube arrays showed much higher photocurrent densities and more efficient water splitting under visible-light illumination (> 420 nm) than pure TiO(2) nanotube arrays. The total photocurrent was more than 20 times higher than that with a P-25 nanoparticulate film under white-light illumination.     

Improved conversion efficiency of CdS quantum dots-sensitized TiO2 nanotube array using ZnO energy barrier layer

We report that the use of a chemically deposited ZnO energy barrier between a CdS quantum dot sensitizer and TiO(2) nanotubes (TNTs) can improve the efficiency of quantum dots-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs). The experimental results show that the formation of the ZnO layers over TNTs significantly improved the performances of the CdS QDSCs based on the TNTs electrodes. In particular, a maximum photoconversion efficiency of 4.6% was achieved for the CdS/ZnO/TNTs electrode under UV-visible light illumination, corresponding to an increase of 43.7% as compared to the CdS/TNTs electrode without the ZnO layers. The improved CdS QDSCs efficiency is attributed to the suppressed recombination of photoinjected electrons with redox ions from the electrolyte resulting from the ZnO energy barrier layers.     

Highly efficient solar cells using TiO(2) nanotube arrays sensitized with a donor-antenna dye

Donor antenna dyes provide an exciting route to improving the efficiency of dye sensitized solar cells owing to their high molar extinction coefficients and the effective spatial separation of charges in the charge-separated state, which decelerates the recombination of photogenerated charges. Vertically oriented TiO(2) nanotube arrays provide an optimal material architecture for photoelectrochemical devices because of their large internal surface area, lower recombination losses, and vectorial charge transport along the nanotube axis. In this study, the results obtained by sensitizing TiO(2) nanotube arrays with the donor antenna dye Ru-TPA-NCS are presented. Solar cells fabricated using an antenna dye-sensitized array of 14.4 microm long TiO(2) nanotubes on Ti foil subjected to AM 1.5 one sun illumination in the backside geometry exhibited an overall conversion efficiency of 6.1%. An efficiency of 4.1% was obtained in the frontside illumination geometry using a 1 microm long array of transparent TiO(2) nanotubes subjected to a TiCl(4) treatment and then sensitized with the Ru-TPA-NCS dye. Open circuit voltage decay measurements give insight into the recombination behavior in antenna-dye sensitized nanotube photoelectrodes, demonstrating outstanding properties likely due to a reduction in the influence of the surface traps and reduced electron transfer from TiO(2) to ions in solution.     

Conversion efficiency versus sensitizer for electrospun TiO(2) nanorod electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

The electrochemical and optical properties of three indoline dyes, namely C(35)H(28)N(2)O(2) (D131), C(37)H(30)N(2)O(3)S(2) (D102), and C(42)H(35)N(3)O(4)S(3) (D149), were studied and compared with that of the N3 dye. D131 has the largest bandgap and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energies compared to the other dyes. A size-dependent variation in the absorptivity of the indoline dyes was observed-the absorptivity increased with increase in the molecular size. The dyes were anchored onto TiO(2) nanorods. The TiO(2) nanorods were obtained by electrospinning a polymeric solution containing titanium isopropoxide and polyvinylpyrrolidone and subsequent sintering of the as-spun composite fibers. Absorption spectral measurements of the dye-anchored TiO(2) showed blue shifts in the excitonic transition of the indoline dyes, the magnitude of which increased with decrease in the molecular size. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated using the indoline dyes, TiO(2) nanorods, and iodide/triiodide electrolyte. The D131 dye showed comparable energy conversion efficiency (η) to that of the N3 dye. A systematic change in the short circuit current density (J(SC)) and η of the indoline DSSCs was observed. The observed variation in J(C) is most likely originated from the difference in the electronic coupling strengths between the dye and the TiO(2).     

磁控溅射TiO_2纳米管阵列与其组装的杂化太阳能电池

采用直流磁控溅射-热处理二步法在多孔阳极氧化铝模板上制备出TiO2纳米管阵列膜。将纳米管阵列膜转移到ITO导电玻璃,并分别与P3HT和P3HT∶PCBM组装成杂化太阳能电池。通过扫描电镜、X射线衍射仪、能谱仪和模拟太阳光光电性能测试系统化对TiO2纳米管阵列膜和其组装的太阳能电池进行了分析表征。在纳米管阵列膜和ITO玻璃之间加入TiO2结合层的P3HT∶PCBM基杂化太阳能电池表现出最好的转换效率。该方法制备的大面积TiO2纳米管阵列膜,纯度高、工艺稳定,在未来的聚合物太阳能电池商业化应用中具有巨大潜力。