TiO2 Nanoparticles Produced by Electric-Discharge-Nanofluid-Process as Photoelectrode of DSSC

Self-made TiO2 nanoparticles were used as photoelectrode material of dye sensitized solar cell. The TiO2 thin film coats through spreading nanoparticles evenly onto the ITO glass via self-made spin-heat platform, and then TiO2 thin film is soaked in the dye N-719 more than 12 h to prepare the photoelectrode device. The TiO2 nanoparticles produced by electric-discharge-nanofluid-process have premium anatase crystal property, and its diameter can be controlled within a range of 20-50 nm. The surface energy zeta potential of nanofluid is from -22 mV to -28.8 mV, it is a stable particle suspension in the deionized water. A trace of surfactant Triton X-100 put upon the surface of ITO glass can produce a uniform and dense TiO2 thin film and heating up the spin platform to 200 oC is able to eliminate mixed surfac-tant. Self-made TiO2 film presents excellent dye absorption performance and even doesn＇t need heat treatment procedure to enhance essential property. Results of energy analysis show the thicker film structure will increase the short-circuit current density that causes higher conversion efficiency. But, as the film structure is large and thick, both the open-circuit voltage and fill factor will decline gradually to lead bad efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cell.

Kinetics of photoelectrocatalytic degradation of endocrine disrupting chemicals using sulfur-doped TiO_2 /Ti photoelectrodes

In this study,sulfur-doped TiO2 /Ti photoelectrodes were prepared by anodization. The morphology, crystalline structure,composition of sulfur-doped TiO2 /Ti film and light absorption property were examined by SEM,XRD,XRF,XPS and UV/VIS respectively. Dimethyl phthalate( DMP) ,one kind of environmental disrupting chemicals( EDCs) ,was degraded by the optimized photoelectrodes. Power of xenon light,initial concentration of DMP,photoelectrocatalytic( PEC) area of photoelectrode and bias were investigated in the study on kinetics of PEC degradation of DMP. Hence,this study concluded that the optimum conditions were power of xenon light 150 W,initial concentration of DMP 1 mg/L,PEC area of sulfur-doped TiO2 /Ti photoelectrode 10 cm2,bias 1. 3 V in the PEC reaction system.

Synthesis of nano-TiO2 assisted by diethylene glycol for use in high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells

The performance of dye-sensitized solar cells（DSSCs） consisting of anatase TiO_2 nanoparticles that were synthesized via a hydrothermal method was studied.The synthesized TiO_2 nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction（XRD）,nitrogen sorption analysis,scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,high resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM）,and UV-vis spectroscopy.Then the J-Vcurve,electrochemical impedance spectroscopy（EIS）,and open-circuit voltage decay（OCVD） measurement were applied to evaluate the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs.Compared with the commercial TiO_2nanoparticles（P25）,the synthesized-TiO_2 nanoparticles showed better performance.By adding diethylene glycol（DEG） before the hydrothermal process,the synthesized TiO_2 nanoparticles（hereafter referred to as TiO_2-DEG particles） shows narrower size distribution,larger specific surface area,higher crystallinity,and less surface defects than TiO_2（DEG free） particles.The analysis of photovoltaic properties of DSSCs based on TiO_2-DEG particles showed that the recombination of electron-hole pairs was decreased and the trapping of carries in grain boundaries restrained.It was believed that the photoelectrode fabricated with the as-prepared TiO_2 nanoparticles improved the loading amount of dye sensitizers（N719）.and enhanced the photocurrent of the DSSCs.As a result,the TiO_2-DEG particle based cells achieved a photo-to-electricity conversion efficiency（η） of 7.90%,which is higher than 7.53%for the cell based on TiO2（DEG free） and 6.59%for the one fabricated with P25.