In
this study, the
in situ
sol–gel method
has been deployed to prepare the titanium dioxide/multiwalled carbon
nanotubes (TiO
2
/MWCNTs) nanocomposite (NCs) powders with
varying content of MWCNTs (0.01–1.0 wt %), to construct the
dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). First, binder-free NCs were deposited
on a transparent-conducting F:SnO
2
(FTO) glass substrate
by a doctor-blade technique and then anchored with Ru(II)-based dyes
to either N719 or ruthenium phthalocyanine (RuPc). The structural
and optical properties and interconnectivity of the materials within
the composite are investigated thoroughly by various spectral techniques
(XRD, XPS, Raman, FT-IR, and UV–vis), electron microscopy (HRTEM),
and BET analysis. The experimental results suggest that the ratio
of MWCNTs and TiO
2
in NCs, morphology, and their interconnectivity
influenced their structural, optical, and photovoltaic properties
significantly. Finally, the photovoltaic performances of the assembled
DSSCs with different content of MWCNTs to TiO
2
films anchored
with two different dyes were tested under one sun irradiation (100
mW/cm
2
). The measured current–voltage (
IV
) curve and incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE)
spectra of TiO
2
/0.1 wt % MWCNTs (T@0.1 C) for N719 dye
show three times more power conversion efficiency (η = 6.21%)
which is opposed to an efficiency (η = 2.07%) of T@0.1
C for RuPc dye under the same operating conditions.
Herein, a protocol strategy has been designed for the
preparation
of ternary silver nanoparticles-supported polyaniline multiwalled
carbon nanotube (Ag NPs–PANI/MWCNT) nanocomposites with a chemical
interaction for catalytic and antibacterial activity. The morphological
study confirmed that Ag NPs were immobilized on the surface of PANI,
and afterward, Ag NPs–PANI were mixed with the MWCNTs. The
X-ray diffraction technique revealed the face-centered cubic structure
of Ag NPs, and the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study revealed
the chemical constituent and signature of π–π*
and C–N interactions in the nanocomposites. The ternary Ag
NPs–PANI/MWCNTs nanocomposites have the apparent rate of reaction
(K
app) as 5.4 × 10–3 s–1, higher than binary nanocomposites for catalytic
reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol at room temperature. Antibacterial
activity of Ag NPs–PANI/MWCNT nanocomposites is higher against
pathogenic bacteria. Thereafter, because of multifold applications
of ternary nanocomposites, they have a broad scope in the field of
environmental and healthcare sectors.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.