-
Australian Journal of Chemistry. 01/2011; 64(9):1280-1285.
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Mesoporous nanofibers (NFs) with a high surface area of 112 m(2)/g have been prepared by electrospinning technique. The structures of mesoporous NFs and regular NFs are characterized and compared through scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) studies. Using mesoporous TiO(2) NFs as the photoelectrode, solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (SDSCs) have been fabricated employing D131 as the sensitizer and P3HT as the hole transporting material to yield an energy conversion efficiency (η) of 1.82%. A J(sc) of 3.979 mA cm(-2) is obtained for mesoporous NF-based devices, which is 3-fold higher than that (0.973 mA cm(-2)) for regular NF-based devices fabricated under the same condition (η = 0.42%). Incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) and dye-desorption test demonstrate that the increase in J(sc) is mainly due to greatly improved dye adsorption for mesoporous NFs as compared to that for regular NFs. In addition, intensity modulated photocurrent spectroscopy (IMPS) and intensity modulated photovoltage spectroscopy (IMVS) measurements indicate that the mesopores on NF surface have very minor effects on charge transport and collection. Initial aging test proves good stability of the fabricated devices, which indicates the promise of mesoporous NFs as photoelectrode for low-cost SDSCs.
Small 10/2010; 6(19):2176-82. · 8.35 Impact Factor
-
Advanced Materials 04/2010; 22(20):E150-5. · 13.88 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: A facile method to prepare nanofibrous ZnO photoelectrodes with tunable thicknesses by electrospinning is reported. A “self-relaxation layer” is formed spontaneously between ZnO nanofibers and fluorine-doped SnO <sub>2</sub> (FTO) substrate, which facilitates the release of interfacial tensile stress during calcination, resulting in good adhesion of ZnO film to FTO substrate. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on the nanofibrous ZnO photoelectrodes are fabricated and an energy conversion efficiency of 3.02% is achieved under irradiation of AM 1.5 simulated sunlight with a power density of 100 mW cm <sup>-2</sup> , which shows good promise of electrospun nanofibrous ZnO as the photoelectrode in DSSCs.
Applied Physics Letters 08/2009; · 3.84 Impact Factor
