| Pacific Rim Symposium on Surfaces, Coatings and Interfaces (PacSurf 2016) | |
| Energy Harvesting & Storage | Tuesday Sessions |
| Session EH-TuM |
| Session: | Surfaces & Interfaces for Solar Cells and Solar Fuels |
| Presenter: | Thomas Nann, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand |
| Authors: | J. Macdonald, University College London, UK D. Tune, KIT, Germany R. Dewi, Zeiss, Australia T. Gibson, Flinders University, Australia G. Shapter, Flinders University, Australia T. Nann, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The performance of dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs) depends to a large degree on the material and surface structure of the photoelectrodes (most commonly only the anode is a photoelectrode). Electrospun photoelectrodes offer a very high surface area and inter-connectivity, which should be ideal for this particular application. We will present a study on electrospun titania and nickel oxide photoelectrodes and their application in DSSCs.
Titania (TiO2) photoanodes are by far the most studied system for DSSCs. We have shown that the performace of electrospun titania (anatase) fibre-photoelectrodes can be significantly increased by forming a single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) composite material [1]. Figure 1 shows scanning electron micrographs (SEMs) of a typical photoanode of this type.
Photocathodes are much less efficient compared with anodes and are replaced by platinum group metal catalysts frequently. We have studied photocathodes that are based on nickel oxide (NiO). The base semiconductors have been ‘sensitised’ with quantum dots and organic fluorophores. The morphology and nanostructure of the materials have been varied and finally, electrocatalysts have been added. It was found that sensitising can improve the performance of some p-type photocathodes significantly, but even the best performing photocathodes did not compare with equivalent TiO2 photoanodes.
References
[1] T. J. Macdonald, D. D. Tune, M. R. Dewi, C. T. Gibson, J. G. Shapter, T. Nann, ChemSusChem2015, 8, 3396–3400.