Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T10:56:39.542Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Facile preparation of TiO2 nanoparticles decorated by the graphene for enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cell performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2019

Reza Ghayoor ,
Alireza Keshavarz  and
Mohammad Navid Soltani Rad
Reza Ghayoor
Affiliation:
Nanophysics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shiraz University of Technology, Shiraz 71557-13876, Iran
Alireza Keshavarz*
Affiliation:
Nanophysics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shiraz University of Technology, Shiraz 71557-13876, Iran
Mohammad Navid Soltani Rad
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, Shiraz University of Technology, Shiraz 71557-13876, Iran
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

In this work, graphene and graphene oxide were synthesized by the modified Hummers method. In order to use graphene in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), TiO2–graphene was prepared by a simple chemical method and used in the DSSC photoanode at different concentrations of graphene to investigate DSSC performance. Utilizing the FE-SEM images, it was observed that accumulation of TiO2 nanoparticles disappeared and a different distribution of nanoparticles was formed on the graphene sheet. Moreover, the UV-vis spectra showed that TiO2–graphene nanocomposites can absorb a wide range of light in comparison with pure TiO2. Structural characterization of TiO2–graphene nanocomposites is confirmed by the FT-IR and Raman analysis. The results have shown that in the presence of graphene, the DSSC performance significantly improved by reducing the recombination. In addition, it has been shown that excess graphene concentration is not proper for DSSC performance. The best result for TiO2–graphene nanocomposite was obtained when the concentration of 1.5% graphene was applied.

Keywords

chemical synthesisenergetic materialphotovoltaic
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 34 , Issue 12 , 28 June 2019 , pp. 2014 - 2023
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

O’regan, B. and Grätzel, M.: A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO2 films. nature 353, 737 (1991).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gong, J., Sumathy, K., Qiao, Q., and Zhou, Z.: Review on dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs): Advanced techniques and research trends. Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 68, 234 (2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kumara, N.T.R.N., Lim, A., Lim, C.M., Petra, M.I., and Ekanayake, P.: Recent progress and utilization of natural pigments in dye sensitized solar cells: A review. Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 78, 301 (2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ahmad, M.S., Pandey, A.K., and Rahim, N.A.: Advancements in the development of TiO2 photoanodes and its fabrication methods for dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications. A review. Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 77, 89 (2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yu, C., Zhang, J., Yang, H., Zhang, L., and Gao, Y.: Enhanced photovoltaic conversion efficiency of a dye-sensitized solar cell based on TiO2 nanoparticle/nanorod array composites. J. Mater. Res., Volume: 34 1 (2019).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Archana, J., Harish, S., Kavirajan, S., Navaneethan, M., Ponnusamy, S., Shimomura, M., Muthamizhchelvan, C., Ikeda, H., and Hayakawa, Y.: Ultra-fast photocatalytic and dye-sensitized solar cell performances of mesoporous TiO2 nanospheres. Appl. Surf. Sci. 449, 729 (2018).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shen, R., Jiang, C., Xiang, Q., Xie, J., and Li, X.: Surface and interface engineering of hierarchical photocatalysts. Appl. Surf. Sci. 471, 43 (2019).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, M., Hou, Y., and Qu, X.: Enhanced power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells with samarium doped TiO2 photoanodes. J. Mater. Res. 32, 3469 (2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yan, L.T., Wu, F.L., Peng, L., Zhang, L.J., Li, P.J., Dou, S.Y., and Li, T.X.: Photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells based on a ZnO/TiO2 composite film. Int. J. Photoenergy 2012, 1 (2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Das, S., Sudhagar, P., Kang, Y.S., and Choi, W.: Graphene synthesis and application for solar cells. J. Mater. Res. 29, 299 (2014).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, X., Yu, J., Wageh, S., Al-Ghamdi, A.A., and Xie, J.: Graphene in photocatalysis: A review. Small 12, 6640 (2016).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yang, N., Zhai, J., Wang, D., Chen, Y., and Jiang, L.: Two-dimensional graphene bridges enhanced photoinduced charge transport in dye-sensitized solar cells. ACS Nano 4, 887 (2010).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yin, L., Zhao, M., Hu, H., Ye, J., and Wang, D.: Synthesis of graphene/tourmaline/TiO2 composites with enhanced activity for photocatalytic degradation of 2-propanol. Chin. J. Catal. 38, 1307 (2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ton, N.N.T., Dao, A.T.N., Kato, K., Ikenaga, T., Trinh, D.X., and Taniike, T.: One-pot synthesis of TiO2/graphene nanocomposites for excellent visible light photocatalysis based on chemical exfoliation method. Carbon 133, 109 (2018).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, A., Kim, J., Kim, M.Y., Ha, S.W., Tien, N.T.T., and Kang, M.: Photovoltaic efficiencies on dye-sensitized solar cells assembled with graphene-linked TiO2 anode films. Bull. Korean Chem. Soc. 33, 3355 (2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shao, L., Quan, S., Liu, Y., Guo, Z., and Wang, Z.: A novel “gel–sol” strategy to synthesize TiO2 nanorod combining reduced graphene oxide composites. Mater. Lett. 107, 307 (2013).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sohail, M., Xue, H., Jiao, Q., Li, H., Khan, K., Wang, S., and Zhao, Y.: Synthesis of well-dispersed TiO2@reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites and their photocatalytic properties. Mater. Res. Bull. 90, 125 (2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Y., Hou, X., Sun, T., and Zhao, X.: Calcination of reduced graphene oxide decorated TiO2 composites for recovery and reuse in photocatalytic applications. Ceram. Int. 43, 1150 (2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kusumawati, Y. and Martoprawiro, M.A.: Supporting information effects of graphene in graphene/TiO2 composite films applied to solar cell photoelectrode. J. Phys. Chem. C 118, 9974 (2014).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, L., Zeng, B., Meng, Q., Zhang, Z., Li, J., Zhang, X., Yang, P., and Wang, H.: Titanium dioxide/graphene anode for enhanced charge-transfer in dye-sensitized solar cell. Synth. Met. 222, 219 (2016).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Y., Zhou, Z., Chen, T., Wang, H., and Lu, W.: Graphene TiO2 nanocomposites with high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of sodium pentachlorophenol. J. Environ. Sci. 26, 2114 (2014).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhang, Q., Bao, N., Wang, X., Hu, X., Miao, X., Chaker, M., and Ma, D.: Advanced fabrication of chemically bonded graphene/TiO2 continuous fibers with enhanced broadband photocatalytic properties and involved mechanisms exploration. Sci. Rep. 6, 1 (2016).Google ScholarPubMed
Tan, L., Ong, W., Chai, S., and Mohamed, A.R.: Reduced graphene oxide–TiO2 nanocomposite as a promising visible-light-active photocatalyst for the conversion of carbon dioxide. Nanoscale Res. Lett. 8, 465 (2013).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ahmadkhaniha, R., Izadpanah, F., and Rastkari, N.: Reduced graphene oxide–TiO2 nanocomposite facilitated visible light photodegradation of gaseous toluene. J. Environ. Prot. 8, 591 (2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, G., Yang, J., Zhao, D., Chen, Y., and Cao, Y.: Research on photocatalytic properties of TiO2–graphene composites with different morphologies. J. Mater. Eng. Perform. 26, 3263 (2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rahimi, R., Zargari, S., and Sadat Shojaei, Z.: Photoelectrochemical investigation of TiO2–graphene nanocomposites. In Proceedings of the 18th International Electronic Conference on Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Seijas, J.A., Pilar Vázquez Tato, M., and Lin, S-K., eds. (MDPI, Basel, Switzerland, 2014); pp. 1–30.Google Scholar
Wang, Y.C. and Cho, C.P.: Application of TiO2–graphene nanocomposites to photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cell. J. Photochem. Photobiol., A 332, 1 (2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gayathri, S., Kottaisamy, M., and Ramakrishnan, V.: Facile microwave-assisted synthesis of titanium dioxide decorated graphene nanocomposite for photodegradation of organic dyes. AIP Adv. 5, 127219 (2015).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, D., Zou, L., Li, S., and Zheng, F.: Nanospherical like reduced graphene oxide decorated TiO2 nanoparticles: An advanced catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. Sci. Rep. 6, 1 (2016).Google ScholarPubMed
Alamelu, K., Raja, V., Shiamala, L., and Jaffar Ali, B.M.: Biphasic TiO2 nanoparticles decorated graphene nanosheets for visible light driven photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes. Appl. Surf. Sci. 430, 145 (2018).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haldorai, Y., Rengaraj, A., Kwak, C.H., Huh, Y.S., and Han, Y.K.: Fabrication of nano TiO2@graphene composite: Reusable photocatalyst for hydrogen production, degradation of organic and inorganic pollutants. Synth. Met. 198, 10 (2014).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, Y.: Hydrothermal synthesis of TiO2–RGO composites and their improved photocatalytic activity in visible light. RSC Adv. 4, 36040 (2014).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Song, C.B., Qiang, Y.H., Zhao, Y.L., Gu, X.Q., Song, L.Z.J., and Liu, X.: Dye-sensitized solar cells based on graphene–TiO2 nanoparticles/TiO2 nanotubes composite films. Int. J. Electrochem. Sci. 9, 8090 (2014).Google Scholar
Chen, L.C., Hsu, C.H., Chan, P.S., Zhang, X., and Huang, C.J.: Improving the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells with TiO2/graphene/TiO2 sandwich structure. Nanoscale Res. Lett. 9, 380 (2014).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, X., Shen, R., Ma, S., Chen, X., and Xie, J.: Graphene-based heterojunction photocatalysts. Appl. Surf. Sci. 430, 53 (2018).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramli, A.M., Razali, M.Z., and Ludin, N.A.: Performance enhancement of dye sensitized solar cell using graphene oxide doped titanium dioxide photoelectrode. Malays. J. Anal. Sci. 21, 928 (2017).Google Scholar
Kim, Y., Yang, S., Lee, J.W., Choi, J.O., Ahn, S.H., and Lee, C.S.: Photovoltaic characteristics of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) fabricated by a nano-particle deposition system (NPDS). Mater. Trans. 54, 2064 (2013).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mehmood, U., Ahmed, S., Hussein, I.A., and Harrabi, K.: Co-sensitization of TiO2-MWCNTs hybrid anode for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells. Electrochim. Acta. 173, 607 (2015).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eshaghi, A. and Aghaei, A.A.: Effect of TiO2–graphene nanocomposite photoanode on dye-sensitized solar cell performance. Bull. Mater. Sci. 38, 1177 (2015).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mozaffari, S., Nateghi, M.R., and Zarandi, M.B.: An overview of the challenges in the commercialization of dye sensitized solar cells. Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 71, 675 (2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghayoor, R., Keshavarz, A., Soltani Rad, M.N., and Mashreghi, A.: Enhancement of photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on TiO2–graphene quantum dots photoanode. Mater. Res. Express 6, 025505 (2018).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: Image

Ghayoor et al. supplementary material

Ghayoor et al. supplementary material 1

Download Ghayoor et al. supplementary material(Image)
Image 2.1 MB
Supplementary material: Image

Ghayoor et al. supplementary material

Ghayoor et al. supplementary material 2

Download Ghayoor et al. supplementary material(Image)
Image 8.4 MB