Synthesis of hybrid organic–inorganic nanocomposite materials based on CdS nanocrystals for energy conversion applications |
| |
Authors: | A M Laera V Resta M C Ferrara M Schioppa E Piscopiello L Tapfer |
| |
Institution: | (1) ENEA, UTTMATB, Centro Ricerche Brindisi, Strada Statale “Appia” km. 706, 72100 Brindisi, Italy; |
| |
Abstract: | Efficient solar energy conversion is strongly related to the development of new materials with enhanced functional properties.
In this context, a wide variety of inorganic, organic, or hybrid nanostructured materials have been investigated. In particular,
in hybrid organic–inorganic nanocomposites are combined the convenient properties of organic polymers, such as easy manipulation
and mechanical flexibility, and the unique size-dependent properties of nanocrystals (NCs). However, applications of hybrid
nanocomposites in photovoltaic devices require a homogeneous and highly dense dispersion of NCs in polymer in order to guarantee
not only an efficient charge separation, but also an efficient transport of the carriers to the electrodes without recombination.
In previous works, we demonstrated that cadmium thiolate complexes are suitable precursors for the in situ synthesis of nanocrystalline
CdS. Here, we show that the soluble Cd(SBz)2]2·(1-methyl imidazole) complex can be efficiently annealed in a conjugated polymer obtaining a nanocomposite with a regular
and compact network of NCs. The proposed synthetic strategies require annealing temperatures well below 200 °C and short time
for the thermal treatment, i.e., less than 30 min. We also show that the same complex can be used to synthesize CdS NCs in
mesoporous TiO2. The adsorption of cadmium thiolate molecule in TiO2 matrix can be obtained by using chemical bath deposition technique and subsequent thermal annealing. The use of NCs, quantum
dots, as sensitizers of TiO2 matrices represents a very promising alternative to common dye-sensitized solar cells and an interesting solution for heterogeneous
photocatalysis. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|