Electrospinning processed nanofibrous TiO₂membranes for photovoltaic applications

Abstract

We have recently fabricated dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) comprising nanofibrous TiO(2) membranes as electrode materials. A thin TiO(2) film was pre-deposited on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated conducting glass substrate by immersion in TiF(4) aqueous solution to reduce the electron back-transfer from FTO to the electrolyte. The composite polyvinyl acetate (PVac)/titania nanofibrous membranes can be deposited on the pre-deposited thin TiO(2) film coated FTO by electrospinning of a mixture of PVac and titanium isopropoxide in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). The nanofibrous TiO(2) membranes were obtained by calcining the electrospun composite nanofibres of PVac/titania as the precursor. Spectral sensitization of the nanofibrous TiO(2) membranes was carried out with a ruthenium (II) complex, cis-dithiocyanate-N,N(')-bis(2,2(')-bipyridyl-4,4(')-dicarboxylic acid) ruthenium (II) dihydrate. The results indicated that the photocurrent and conversion efficiency of electrodes can be increased with the addition of the pre-deposited TiO(2) film and the adhesion treatment using DMF. Additionally, the dye loading, photocurrent, and efficiency of the electrodes were gradually increased by increasing the average thickness of the nanofibrous TiO(2) membranes. The efficiency of the fibrous TiO(2) photoelectrode with the average membrane thickness of 3.9 µm has a maximum value of 4.14%.

Electrospinning of Nanomaterials and Applications in Electronic Components and Devices

“…For [31][32][33][34] These electrospun electrodes have a porous structure that enhances the penetration of the viscous polymer gel electrolyte. Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) such as carbon nanotubes as well as conventional nano-scale carbon fibers have also been fabricated from polymer solutions for use as anode material for Li-ion batteries and as electrodes of supercapacitors.…”

Facile construction of nanofibrous ZnO photoelectrode for dye-sensitized solar cell applications

“…To solve this problem, various pretreatment methods have been developed. [13][14][15] In our previous study, we have shown that a buffer layer could be introduced to improve the adhesion of TiO 2 nanofibers to substrate. 16 Recently, the hot press treatment has also been applied to enhance the adhesion of ZnO nanofibers to the FTO substrate.…”

Predicting jet radius in electrospinning by superpositioning exponential functions

“…It also can be used for many kinds of polymer which has conductivity. Today the development of nanofiber is beneficial in many fields such as air/water filtration membrane [1], electronic devices [2], medicines, textiles coating, and more [3]. Analytical study of electrospinning is not easy since the theories of electrospinning are complex.…”