| 1. |
- Awais, Muhammad, et al.
(author)
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Fabrication of Efficient NiO Photocathodes Prepared via RDS with Novel Routes of Substrate Processing for p-Type Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
- 2014
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In: ChemElectroChem. - : Wiley. - 2196-0216. ; 1:2, s. 384-391
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- p-type dye sensitized solar cells (p-DSCs) derived from nickel oxide (NiO) photocathodes have been obtained via rapid discharge sintering (RDS) of parent metal oxide nanoparticles deposited onto differently treated substrates utilizing a plasma atmosphere with microwave radiation as heat source. This method produces NiO thin films (0.6 < l < 6 mu m) with mesoporous features and large surface areas as required for efficient dye-loading and high photocurrents. Erythrosine B (ERY) was used to sensitize the oxide in the visible spectrum. We have analyzed and compared the photoelectrochemical performances of the p-DSCs assembled with the various types of NiO samples prepared by RDS techniques with different treatments of the supporting substrate prior to, or during, spray deposition of the NiO nanoparticles. The best photovoltaic performances were obtained when the transparent conducting substrate (TCS) was heated during spraying. We believe that this is because the charge transfer through the NiO film and the charge collection at the TCS/NiO film interface were the most efficient with this sample. To our knowledge, the photovoltaic performances reported here are the best achieved with the commercial dye ERY as sensitizer.
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| 2. |
- Gibson, Elizabeth A., et al.
(author)
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Dye sensitised solar cells with nickel oxide photocathodes prepared via scalable microwave sintering
- 2013
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In: Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics - PCCP. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1463-9076 .- 1463-9084. ; 15:7, s. 2411-2420
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Photoactive NiO electrodes for cathodic dye-sensitised solar cells (p-DSCs) have been prepared with thicknesses ranging between 0.4 and 3.0 mu m by spray-depositing pre-formed NiO nanoparticles on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates. The larger thicknesses were obtained in sequential sintering steps using a conventional furnace (CS) and a newly developed rapid discharge sintering (RDS) method. The latter procedure is employed for the first time for the preparation of p-DSCs. In particular, RDS represents a scalable procedure that is based on microwave-assisted plasma formation that allows the production in series of mesoporous NiO electrodes with large surface areas for p-type cell photocathodes. RDS possesses the unique feature of transmitting heat from the bulk of the system towards its outer interfaces with controlled confinement of the heating zone. The use of RDS results in a drastic reduction of processing times with respect to other deposition methods that involve heating/calcination steps with associated reduced costs in terms of energy. P1-dye sensitized NiO electrodes obtained via the RDS procedure have been tested in DSC devices and their performances have been analysed and compared with those of cathodic DSCs derived from CS-deposited samples. The largest conversion efficiencies (0.12%) and incident photon-to-current conversion efficiencies, IPCEs (50%), were obtained with sintered NiO electrodes having thicknesses of similar to 1.5-2.0 mu m. In all the devices, the photogenerated holes in NiO live significantly longer (tau(h) similar to 1 s) than have previously been reported for P1-sensitized NiO photocathodes. In addition, P1-sensitised sintered electrodes give rise to relatively high photovoltages (up to 135 mV) when the triiodide-iodide redox couple is used.
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| 3. |
- Wood, Christopher J., et al.
(author)
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A comprehensive comparison of dye-sensitized NiO photocathodes for solar energy conversion
- 2016
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In: Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics - PCCP. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 1463-9076 .- 1463-9084. ; 18:16, s. 10727-10738
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We investigated a range of different mesoporous NiO electrodes prepared by different research groups and private firms in Europe to determine the parameters which influence good quality photoelectrochemical devices. This benchmarking study aims to solve some of the discrepancies in the literature regarding the performance of p-DSCs due to differences in the quality of the device fabrication. The information obtained will lay the foundation for future photocatalytic systems based on sensitized NiO so that new dyes and catalysts can be tested with a standardized material. The textural and electrochemical properties of the semiconducting material are key to the performance of photocathodes. We found that both commercial and non-commercial NiO gave promising solar cell and water-splitting devices. The NiO samples which had the two highest solar cell efficiency (0.145% and 0.089%) also gave the best overall theoretical H-2 conversion.
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