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SiNW/C@Pt Arrays for High-Efficiency Counter Electrodes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
- Source :
- Energies, Vol 13, Iss 1, p 139 (2019), Energies, Volume 13, Issue 1
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- MDPI AG, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Modern energy needs and the pressing issue of environmental sustainability have driven many research groups to focus on energy-generation devices made from novel nanomaterials. We have prepared platinum nanoparticle-decorated silicon nanowire/carbon core&ndash<br />shell nanomaterials (SiNW/C@Pt). The processing steps are relatively simple, including wet chemical etching to form the silicon nanowires (SiNWs), chemical vapor deposition to form the carbon shell, and drop-casting and thermal treatment to embed platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs). This nanomaterial was then tested as the counter electrode (CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). SiNW/C@Pt shows potential as a good electrocatalyst based on material characterization data from Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Raman spectroscopy shows that the surface reactivity of the SiNW/C is increased by the decoration of Pt NPs. These data also show that the carbon shell included both graphitic (sp 2 hybridization) and defective (sp 3 hybridization) phases of carbon. We achieved the minimum charge-transfer resistance of 0.025 Ω &middot<br />cm 2 and the maximum efficiency of 9.46% with a symmetric dummy cell and DSSC device fabricated from the SiNW/C@Pt CEs, respectively.
- Subjects :
- Auxiliary electrode
Control and Optimization
Materials science
Energy Engineering and Power Technology
core–shell
02 engineering and technology
Chemical vapor deposition
010402 general chemistry
Platinum nanoparticles
Electrocatalyst
electrocatalytic activity
lcsh:Technology
01 natural sciences
Nanomaterials
symbols.namesake
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
dye-sensitized solar cells (dsscs)
counter electrodes (ces)
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Engineering (miscellaneous)
silicon nanowires (sinws)
lcsh:T
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
defective carbon
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
0104 chemical sciences
Dye-sensitized solar cell
Chemical engineering
symbols
0210 nano-technology
Raman spectroscopy
Energy (miscellaneous)
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19961073
- Volume :
- 13
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Energies
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....314ce31315f9d2fce5a3aeac9bff6c93