Effect of nanoporous In2O3 film fabricated on TiO2-In2O3 photoanode for photovoltaic performance via a sparking method

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - A simple and inexpensive sparking method was used to deposit body-centered cubic In2O3 film on TiO2 photoanode for 30–180 min for...     

Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering in Graphene Quantum Dots Grown via Electrochemical Process

Graphene Quantum dots (GQDs) are used as a surface-enhanced Raman substrate for detecting target molecules with large specific surface areas and more accessible edges to enhance the signal of target molecules. The electrochemical process is used to synthesize GQDs in the solution-based process from which the SERS signals were obtained from GQDs Raman spectra. In this work, GQDs were grown via the electrochemical process with citric acid and potassium chloride (KCl) electrolyte solution to obtain GQDs in a colloidal solution-based format. Then, GQDs were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. From the results, SERS signals had observed via GQDs spectra through the Raman spectra at D (1326 cm⁻¹) and G (1584 cm⁻¹), in which D intensity is defined as the presence of defects on GQDs and G is the sp² orbital of carbon signal. The increasing concentration of KCl in the electrolyte solution for 0.15M to 0.60M demonstrated the increment of Raman intensity at the D peak of GQDs up to 100 over the D peak of graphite. This result reveals the potential feasibility of GQDs as SERS applications compared to graphite signals.     

Low-temperature-processed ZnO thin films as electron transporting layer to achieve stable perovskite solar cells

Morphology and surface property of ZnO thin films as electron transporting layer in perovskite solar cells are crucial for obtaining high-efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. In this work, two different preparation methods of ZnO thin films were carried out and the photovoltaic performances of the subsequent perovskite solar cells were investigated. ZnO thin film prepared by sol–gel method was homogenous but provided high series resistance in solar cells, leading to low short circuit current density. Lower series resistance of solar cell was obtained from homogeneous ZnO thin film from spin-coating of colloidal ZnO nanoparticles (synthesized by hydrolysis–condensation) in a mixture of 1-butanol, chloroform and methanol. The perovskite solar cells using this film achieved the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.79% when poly(3-hexylthiophene) was used as a hole transporting layer. In addition, the stability of perovskite solar cells was also examined by measuring the photovoltaic characteristic for six consecutive weeks with the interval of 2 weeks. It was found that using double layers of the sol–gel ZnO and ZnO nanoparticles provided better stability with no degradation of PCE in 10 weeks. Therefore, this work provides a simple method for preparing homogeneous ZnO thin films in order to achieve stable perovskite solar cells, also for controlling their surface properties which help better understand the characteristics of perovskite solar cells.     

SnO2 nanowires mixed nanodendrites for high ethanol sensor response

Mixed morphology of SnO₂ nanowires and nanodendrites was synthesized on the gold-coated alumina substrates by carbothermal reduction of SnO₂ in closed crucible. The products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffractometer, and transmission electron microscopy. Results showed the SnO₂ nanowires and the SnO₂ nanodendrites branched out from the main nanowires. Both SnO₂ nanostructures were pure tetragonal rutile structure. The nanowires were grown in [101] and directions with the diameter of 50–150 nm and the length of a few 10 μm. The nanodendrites were about 100–300 nm in diameter. The growth mechanism of the SnO₂ nanostructures was also discussed. Characterization of ethanol gas sensor, based on the mixed morphology of the SnO₂ nanostructures, was carried out. The optimal temperature was about 360 °C and the sensor response was 120 for 1000 ppm of ethanol concentration.     

Zinc oxide nanostructures for applications as ethanol sensors and dye-sensitized solar cells

ZnO nanostructures were prepared by thermal oxidation technique for applying as ethanol sensors and dye-sensitized solar cells. To improve sensitivity of the sensor based on ZnO nanostructures, gold doping was performed in ZnO nanostructures. Gold-doped with 0%, 5%, and 10% by weight were investigated. The improvement of sensor sensitivity toward ethanol due to gold doping was observed at entire operating temperature and ethanol concentration. The sensitivity up to 145 was obtained for 10% Au-doped ZnO sensor. This can be explained by an increase of the quantity of oxygen ion due to catalytic effect of gold. Also, it was found that oxygen ion species at the surface of the Au-doped ZnO sensor remained O²⁻ as pure ZnO sensor. For dye-sensitized solar cell application, the dye-sensitized solar cell structure based on ZnO as a photoelectrode was FTO/ZnO/Eosin-Y/electrolyte/Pt counter electrode. ZnO with different morphologies of nanobelt, nano-tetrapod, and powder were investigated. It was found that DSSCs with ZnO powder showed higher photocurrent, photovoltage and overall energy conversion efficiencies than that of ZnO nanobelt and ZnO nano-tetrapod. The best results of DSSCs were the short circuit current (J_sc) of 1.25 mA/cm², the open circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.45 V, the fill factor (FF) of 0.65 and the overall energy conversion efficiency (η) of 0.68%.