High performance of NiCo nanoparticles-doped carbon nanofibers as counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

Motlak, Moaaed; Barakat, Nasser A.M.; Akhtar, M. Shaheer; Hamza, A. A.; Kim, Byoung‐Suhk; Kim, Cheol Sang; Khalil, Khalil Abdelrazek; Almajid, Abdulhakim A.

doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2015.02.063

Cited by 65 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…have receivedcontinuous attention in recenty ears owing to their synergy efficiencya fforded by ternary phases. [18][19][20] Early studies have found that the Ni 2Àx Co x Pn anostructure as ac atalyst for hydrodesulfurization(HDS) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) exhibits improved activities relative the best of Ni 2 P. [19,[21][22] In 2014, Peng and co-workers studied the HER activitiesa nd stabilitieso ft he nanoscalem agnetic metal phosphides including Co 2 P, Co 1.33 Ni 0.67 P, and Ni 2 Pn anorods. The resultss how the best HER catalyst is Co 2 P, followedby Co 1.33 Ni 0.67 P, and Ni 2 Pn anorods.…”

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confidence: 99%

Tunable and Specific Formation of C@NiCoP Peapods with Enhanced HER Activity and Lithium Storage Performance

Bai

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2015

Chemistry A European J

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The superior properties of nanomaterials with a special structure can provide prospects for highly efficient water splitting and lithium storage. Herein, we fabricated a series of peapodlike C@Ni2-x Cox P (x≤1) nanocomposites by an anion-exchange pathway. The experimental results indicated that the HER activity of C@Ni2-x Cox P catalyst is strongly related to the Co/Ni ratio, and the C@NiCoP got the highest HER activity with low onset potential of ∼45 mV, small Tafel slope of ∼43 mV dec(-1) , large exchange current density of 0.21 mA cm(-2) , and high long-term durability (60 h) in 0.5 m H2 SO4 solutions. Equally importantly, as an anode electrode for lithium batteries, this peapodlike C@NiCoP nanocomposite gives excellent charge-discharge properties (e.g., specific capacity of 670 mAh g(-1) at 0.2 A g(-1) after 350 cycles, and a reversible capacity of 405 mAh g(-1) at a high current rate of 10 A g(-1) ). The outstanding performance of C@NiCoP in HER and LIBs could be attributed to the synergistic effect of the rational design of peapodlike nanostructures and the introduction of Co element.

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confidence: 99%

Tunable and Specific Formation of C@NiCoP Peapods with Enhanced HER Activity and Lithium Storage Performance

Bai

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2015

Chemistry A European J

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“…Moreover, the presence of this large amount of defects can provide enormous active sites on the CE for I À 3 adsorption and reduction, thereby improving the redox reaction and enhancing the photovoltaic performance of the DSSC device [25]. All these literature results [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] suggest that a good control of the crystallinity and morphology of the material is the key to obtain highly performing counter electrodes. Therefore, there is a need to develop a reliable fabrication route that enables the controlled growth of high-crystalline quality of Co-Ni nanoparticles to exploit their full electrocatalytic potential in DSSCs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In particular, Chen et al [25] used a mild hydrothermal reduction method to grow Co-Ni NPs directly on FTO-glass substrates, and obtained a PCE (g) of 2.69% for Co 0.5 Ni 0.5 nanoparticles which is quite lower than that of standard Pt-based DSSCs. Likewise, Motlak et al [26] also used a chemical synthesis method to produce Co-Ni NPs by electrospinning at high voltage to deposit them on carbon nanofibres, and obtained a lower PCE value than that of their standard Pt-based DSSC (5.9%). This lower PCE value can be probably attributed to the lower defect density in the alloy lattice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These novel CEs showed good photovoltaic properties, with an increase of *9% of efficiency for Ni decorated CNTs and an increase of *1% of efficiency for Co-decorated CNTs with respect to their standard Pt-based CEs (7.67%). Even though it is well known that Co-Ni alloy has good catalytic properties [25] enhancing electron transfer from carbon-based substrate to electrolyte solution [26], their performance depends on the synthesis route and the alloy composition used. In particular, Chen et al [25] used a mild hydrothermal reduction method to grow Co-Ni NPs directly on FTO-glass substrates, and obtained a PCE (g) of 2.69% for Co 0.5 Ni 0.5 nanoparticles which is quite lower than that of standard Pt-based DSSCs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pulsed-laser-ablation based nanodecoration of multi-wall-carbon nanotubes by Co–Ni nanoparticles for dye-sensitized solar cell counter electrode applications

Imbrogno

Pandiyan

Barberio

et al. 2017

Mater Renew Sustain Energy

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We report here on the use of pulsed KrF-laser deposition technique (PLD) for the decoration of Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by Co-Ni nanoparticles (NPs) to form highly efficient counter electrodes (CEs) for use in Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). By varying the number of laser ablation pulses (N LP = 500-60,000) of the KrF laser, we were able to control the average size of the Co-Ni NPs and the surface coverage of the MWCNTs by the nanoparticles. The PLD-based decoration of MWCNTs by Co-Ni NPs is shown to form novel counter electrodes, which significantly enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the DSSCs. Indeed, the DSSCs based on the PLD-decorated Co-Ni counter electrodes (obtained at the optimal N LP = 40,000) are shown to exhibit a PCE value as high as 6.68%, with high short circuit current (J sc = 14.68 mA/cm2 ) and open circuit voltage (V oc = 0.63 V). This represents a PCE improvement of *190% in comparison to the DSSCs with pristine MWCNTs (PCE = 2.3%) and *7.4% PCE increase than that of the conventional DSSC made with a sputtered Platinum-based counter electrode. By systematically investigating the local nanostructure of the Co-Ni decorated CEs, we found that the Co-Ni NPs layer exhibits a porous cauliflower-like morphology, of which surface roughness (RMS) is N LP dependent. Interestingly, both PCE and roughness of the Co-Ni NPs layer are found to exhibit the same N LP dependence, with a maximum located around the optimal N LP value of 40,000. This enabled us to establish, for the first time, a linear correlation between the achieved PCE of DSSCs and the local roughness of their CEs decorated by Co-Ni NPs. Such a correlation highlights the importance of maximizing the surface area of the CoNi coated MWCNTs on the CEs to enhance the PCE of the DSSCs. Finally, Ultra-violet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS) measurements revealed a significant decrease in the local work function (U) of Co-Ni NPs decorated MWCNTs based CEs (at N LP = 40,000, U = 3.9 eV) with respect to that of either pristine MWCNTs (U = 4.8 eV) or sputtered-Pt (U = 4.3 eV) counter-electrodes. This U lowering of the Co-Ni/MWCNTs based CEs is an additional advantage to enhance the catalytic reaction of the redox couple of the electrolyte solution, and improve thereby the PCE of the DSSCs.

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“…The peak appeared at 26.3 corresponds to carbon. 46 Figure 6 displays the electroactivity performance of the proposed Co/Cr CNFs in 1 mol/l KOH (methanol-free) and after addition of 1 mol/l methanol. Interestingly, the oxidation process is observed during the positive potential.…”

Section: -3mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cobalt/Chromium Nanoparticles-Incorporated Carbon Nanofibers as Effective Nonprecious Catalyst for Methanol Electrooxidation in Alkaline Medium

Mohamed

Motlak

Fouad

et al. 2016

NANO

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Cobalt-Chrome nanoparticles-incorporated carbon nano¯bers (CNFs) are proposed as an e®ec-tive nonprecious electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation in the alkaline media. The introduced nano¯bers were prepared by simple technique, electrospinning. Carbonization of as-spun mat composed of chromium acetate, cobalt acetate and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) at high temperature (900 C) leads to production of the introduced nano¯bers. The physicochemical characteristics were investigated by X-ray di®ractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), eld emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) equipped with EDX and TEM mapping. The exploited analyses con¯rmed that the¯nal product is in the form of CNFs decorated by Co/Cr nanoparticles. Based on the results obtained from the cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements, the proposed Co/Cr-incorporated CNFs possess high electrocatalytic activity toward methanol electrooxidation as a clear peak of methanol oxidation appeared with corresponding current density of 56 mA/cm 2 . Moreover, the current density increased by increasing methanol concentration up to 4.0 M. Overall, the proposed nano¯bers open new avenue for platinum-free and stable nanostructural catalysts for fuel cell technology.

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High performance of NiCo nanoparticles-doped carbon nanofibers as counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

Cited by 65 publications

References 34 publications

Tunable and Specific Formation of C@NiCoP Peapods with Enhanced HER Activity and Lithium Storage Performance

Tunable and Specific Formation of C@NiCoP Peapods with Enhanced HER Activity and Lithium Storage Performance

Pulsed-laser-ablation based nanodecoration of multi-wall-carbon nanotubes by Co–Ni nanoparticles for dye-sensitized solar cell counter electrode applications

Cobalt/Chromium Nanoparticles-Incorporated Carbon Nanofibers as Effective Nonprecious Catalyst for Methanol Electrooxidation in Alkaline Medium

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