Electrospun polymethylacrylate nanofibers membranes for quasi-solid-state dye sensitized solar cells

Fathy, Marwa; Kashyout, Abd El-Hady B.; Nady, Jehan El; Ebrahim, Shaker; Soliman, Mohamed S.

doi:10.1016/j.aej.2016.03.019

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Then, the porous film is sintered by firing in air at 450 °C for half an hour. After cooling down to room temperature, the film is sunk in a 0.5 mM ethanolic solution from N719 dye and kept in the dark for 24 h. Upon dyeing, the electrodes are rinsed thoroughly in absolute ethanol to remove the excess unattached dye and then left to dry at room temperature. − …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simple and Fast Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Methods of Nanocrystalline TiO₂ and rGO Materials for Low-Cost Metal-Free DSSC Applications

et al. 2022

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Nanocrystalline TiO 2 and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) materials have been synthesized by a simple and low-cost microwave-assisted hydrothermal method and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as photoactive and metal-free counter electrodes, respectively. Different TiO 2 nanocrystalline materials have been synthesized via the acid hydrolysis sol–gel method, followed by microwave hydrothermal treatment at 210 °C and 300 psi and at different microwave irradiation times (20, 30, 45, and 60 min) instead of the usual hydrothermal time of 12 h. The properties of the produced mesoporous nanocrystalline TiO 2 are investigated in terms of their morphology, crystal structure, optical properties, and surface area behavior using relevant characterization techniques. Maximum specific surface area values ( S BET ) of 97.77 and 100.7 m 2 g –1 are measured for TiO 2 , with the average crystallite sizes of 18.6 and 17.5 nm, at microwave irradiation times of 30 and 45 min, respectively. Different rGO samples have been prepared by the modified Hummers method, followed by microwave-assisted reduction at a temperature of 200 °C and pressure of 300 psi at different microwave irradiation times (3, 17, and 25 min). The physicochemical properties of the different rGO samples in terms of morphology, crystallization, and optical properties are characterized by TEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopic analysis. The current density J sc of the fabricated DSSCs based on TiO 2 as the photoelectrode and rGO as the counter electrode compared with DSSCs based on Pt as the counter electrode is found to be 11.25 and 9.28 mA cm –2 , respectively. Although the overall power efficiency of the fabricated DSSCs based on rGO as the counter electrode is lower than that based on the Pt electrode, the former still exhibits promising prospects for replacing Pt with low-cost metal-free carbon-based DSSCs.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simple and Fast Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Methods of Nanocrystalline TiO₂ and rGO Materials for Low-Cost Metal-Free DSSC Applications

et al. 2022

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“…Thanks to the easy crossing of liquid electrolyte through the pores of membranes, a high ionic conductivity of 2.4 × 10 −3 S cm −1 at room temperature and a solar-electricity conversion efficiency of 1.4% at an illumination intensity of 100 mW cm −2 were evaluated. The electrolyte solution was well encapsulated within the membrane structure with a better long-term stability compared to standard liquid electrolytes [ 98 ].…”

Section: Polyacrylate: Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acrylate and Methacrylate Polymers’ Applications: Second Life with Inexpensive and Sustainable Recycling Approaches

et al. 2021

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Polymers are widely employed in several fields thanks to their wide versatility and the easy derivatization routes. However, a wide range of commercial polymers suffer from limited use on a large scale due to their inert nature. Nowadays, acrylate and methacrylate polymers, which are respectively derivatives of acrylic or methacrylic acid, are among the most proposed materials for their useful characteristics like good biocompatibility, capping ability toward metal clusters, low price, potentially recyclability and reusability. Here, we discuss the advantages and challenges of this class of smart polymers focusing our attention on their current technological applications in medical, electronic, food packaging and environmental remediation fields. Furthermore, we deal with the main issue of their recyclability, considering that the current commercial bioplastics are not yet able to meet the global needs as much as to totally replace fossil-fuel-based products. Finally, the most accredited strategies to reach recyclable composites based on acrylic polymers are described.

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“…In recent years, a new type of porous material, electrospun nanofiber, has attracted much attention due to its easy manufacture, good mechanical strength, high porosity, and good specific surface area. − The PGEs prepared by nanofibers showed high conductivity due to their unique nonwoven, interconnected matrix with large porosity, which is essential for high stability and high conversion efficiency of the DSSCs. Among the numerous electrospun nanofiber materials, the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) has been widely used as the polymer matrix due to its high chemical inertness and good mechanical stability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polydopamine-Modified Electrospun Polyvinylidene Fluoride Nanofiber Based Flexible Polymer Gel Electrolyte for Highly Stable Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Cheng

Wang

et al. 2021

ACS Omega

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To overcome the drawbacks of solvent evaporation and leakage from the liquid electrolyte in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), a polymer gel electrolyte (PGE), based on polydopamine (PDA)-modified electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers, PDA@PVDF, was prepared and applied in quasi-solid DSSCs (QS-DSSCs). The PDA coating increased the wettability of the liquid electrolyte by improving the distribution of the ionic liquid electrolyte. This, in turn, enhanced the ion conductivity of the PGE as well as the stability of QS-DSSC. The PDA@PVDF nanofiber membrane exhibited a satisfactory ultimate tensile strength of 9.3 MPa with a failure elongation of 130%. Such high toughness provided excellent mechanical support for the PGE. Owing to the unique pore connected structure of nonwoven nanofibers as well as the reduced surface tension with the liquid electrolytes, the PGE-based QS-DSSC retained 95.7% of the short circuit current from the liquid-electrolyte-based DSSC and showed an energy conversion efficiency of 8.26%. No significant impacts were observed for the open-circuit voltage and fill factor. More importantly, the QS-DSSCs using PDA@PVDF-based PGE showed a significantly improved solar cell stability under both indoor and outdoor conditions.

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Electrospun polymethylacrylate nanofibers membranes for quasi-solid-state dye sensitized solar cells

Cited by 18 publications

References 29 publications

Simple and Fast Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Methods of Nanocrystalline TiO₂ and rGO Materials for Low-Cost Metal-Free DSSC Applications

Simple and Fast Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Methods of Nanocrystalline TiO₂ and rGO Materials for Low-Cost Metal-Free DSSC Applications

Acrylate and Methacrylate Polymers’ Applications: Second Life with Inexpensive and Sustainable Recycling Approaches

Polydopamine-Modified Electrospun Polyvinylidene Fluoride Nanofiber Based Flexible Polymer Gel Electrolyte for Highly Stable Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

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Electrospun polymethylacrylate nanofibers membranes for quasi-solid-state dye sensitized solar cells

Cited by 18 publications

References 29 publications

Simple and Fast Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Methods of Nanocrystalline TiO2 and rGO Materials for Low-Cost Metal-Free DSSC Applications

Simple and Fast Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Methods of Nanocrystalline TiO2 and rGO Materials for Low-Cost Metal-Free DSSC Applications

Acrylate and Methacrylate Polymers’ Applications: Second Life with Inexpensive and Sustainable Recycling Approaches

Polydopamine-Modified Electrospun Polyvinylidene Fluoride Nanofiber Based Flexible Polymer Gel Electrolyte for Highly Stable Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Simple and Fast Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Methods of Nanocrystalline TiO₂ and rGO Materials for Low-Cost Metal-Free DSSC Applications

Simple and Fast Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Methods of Nanocrystalline TiO₂ and rGO Materials for Low-Cost Metal-Free DSSC Applications