Enhanced PSCs Performance with Sn and AgCl co-doped Titania Microspheres

Scientists from Various Universities (1. Mössbauer Effect Data Center, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, China, 2. Centre for Solar Energy Materials, International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, Hyderabad 500005, India, 3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, 4. Tokyo University of Science, Kagulazaka 1-3, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-0825, Japan) and their research collaboration team have discovered hierarchical Sn and AgCl co-doped TiO₂ microspheres as an electron transport layer for the enhanced perovskite solar cell performance.

Zero carbon emission by low-cost and environmentally-friendly alternative energy resources is required for the growing world’s energy demand. Concerning this, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have gained more attention in recent years, owing to their low cost, higher absorption coefficient, and high efficiency [1]. In general, PSCs are composed of three layers, the electron transport layer (ETL), the absorber layer (perovskite), and the hole transfer layer. An emerging trend of developing novel and effective electron/hole-transporting materials for the enhancement of material stability and device efficiency of PSCs is carried out. Therefore, to tune and control the growth of these perovskite films, a new hole or electron interfacial layers with suitable energy levels are very essential for high-performance and stability in PSCs. Organic-inorganic halide PSCs provide a greater potential for the photovoltaics applications owing to their unique advantages, like simple process low-cost production with very high efficiency. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is widely utilized in PSCs as ETL owing to its low-cost production, photo-stability, nontoxicity, and chemical inertness. TiO₂ has a wide bandgap (Eg = 3.2 eV) which can trigger the UV radiation, electron-hole pairs that can be created at the surface of the outer region which accounts for the solar spectrum of about 3–4% [2].

Ganeshraja et al., and his team have reported about the importance of metal doping, co-doping, and metal complex grafting in TiO₂. For the first time, they reported on the fabrication of PSCs with hierarchical AgCl@Sn-TiO₂ microspheres as photoelectrode via a two-step spin coating process, undermining the need for dry atmosphere and post-annealing. Further, they effectively improved the visible light photocatalytic activity by doping the metal or nonmetal element into TiO₂microspheres which showed a significant enhancement in the photovoltaic properties in comparison with undoped TiO₂nanoparticles [3–5].

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of (a) PSC device and (b) Energy band diagram for the fabricated device [5].

The energy band diagram (Figure 1b) represents the fabricated device, showing the level of highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the perovskite which suitably matched for the electron transporting AgCl@Sn-TiO₂ layer for the hole transport layer which facilitates for efficient dissociation of the exciton and extraction through these electrodes. They have used the standard 2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis(N,N-di-4-methoxyphenylamino)-9,9′-spirobifluorene(spiro-MeTAD) and with their respective additives as the hole transporting layer with the thermal evaporated gold as a cathode, respectively. Further, they found that the thickness of TiO₂ with perovskite and hole transporting layers in the range of 400 and 180 nm, respectively.

They have utilized the noble metal halide loaded with silver doped metal oxide semiconductor microspheres as photoelectrodes for PSCs. Dopants used in this work are non-toxic, low-cost, and highly photo-stable. A very small amount of dopant inclusion is expected to increase the optical density of the active layer, thus for the improvement of light-harvesting. Therefore, the performance of PSCs has arisen from various multiple factors which include excellent crystallinity, light absorption, carrier dynamics, and surface morphology. Also, the changes in band structure and energy level alignment might contribute to improved solar cell device performance. As it can be seen that, the ETL film morphology and poor perovskite infiltration reduces the device performance, irrespective of its good photocatalytic property in high level loaded AgCl materials due to variation in particle size and porosity. However, the exact mechanism further needs to be investigated. In general, under dark conditions, all their devices are stored at ambient conditions with 30–40% humidity.

To check for the long term stability, they have developed new ETL devices measured without encapsulation. Hence, a low AgCl content in TiO₂ microspheres showed good photovoltaic and magnetic properties. On the other side, high AgCl content in TiO₂is predominantly observed with visible light and play as an efficient photocatalyst [4,5].

Our SNB team recommended this research article to enrich our viewer’s knowledge to know about the hierarchical Sn and AgCl co-doped TiO₂ microspheres and their enhancement of PSCs performance. Further, they summarize that the noble metal halide and tin codoped hierarchical TiO₂microspheres were synthesized via the simple hydrothermal method by a single step mechanism in an efficient manner. Also, the as-synthesized hierarchical TiO₂ microspheres showed efficient photovoltaic activity in the PSCs applications. The use of AgCl nanoparticle loaded and Sn doped TiO₂ ETL increases the optical density of the active layer which in turn slings the efficiency of PSCs. In order to develop for a new generation of materials with highly stable and efficient PSCs, the exploration of AgCl nanoparticles loaded with metal-doped/codoped of metal oxide semiconductors based systems obtained significant potential with tailored optical and electronic characteristics. Finally, they reported that AgCl@Sn-TiO₂ is one of the efficient materials with good potential for application in photo energy conversion devices. This provides new insight into the design of advanced perovskite solar cells with TiO₂based electron transport materials.

References

Z. Wang et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 56, 1190 (2017).
S. Maniarasu, et al., Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 82, 845 (2018).
A.S. Ganeshraja, et al., RSC Adv. 6, 409 (2016).
A.S. Ganeshraja, et al., J. Phys. Chem. C 121, 6662 (2017).
A.S. Ganeshraja, et al., Catalysis Today, 355, 333(2020).

Blog Written By

Dr. Y. Sasikumar

School of Materials Science and Engineering,

Tianjin University of Technology, China

Author Profile

Editors

Dr. A. S. Ganeshraja

Dr. S. Chandrasekar

Dr. K. Rajkumar

Reviewers

Dr. K. Vaithinathan

Dr. S. Thirumurugan

Comments

PROSPECTS ON PHOTOBIOREFINERY

Very recently, Prof. Dr. K. Faungnawakij and his research group have summarized a mini review report on an emerging renewable technique of Photobiorefinery . This is one of the beyond technique of Artificial Photosynthesis (AP) [1] . Despite great promises, AP technologies for solar H2 production and CO2 reduction are far uncompetitive to other promising technologies at the current stage . However, despite an enormous effort, time, and budget paid on AP-related researches throughout several decades, AP technologies have struggled to strive beyond laboratory demonstration except a very few exceptions [2] . This bitter reality makes the translation of this excellent science to practical application questionable [3] . Technoeconomic analysis shows that without achieving the aggressive technology targets, this technology will not be commercially viable. This has directed the research community towards the development of highly efficient yet expensive devices. While tremendous p...

Impact on Climate and Land Use Changes Around Ganga River

In India, Ganga is the largest river and also famous spiritual river, in meantime pollution issue in Ganga river is considered to be one of the most discussed topics on river water quality in the past decades . The river gets s everely polluted with untreated industrial and human wastes, and the river crossed around 11 states in India and provides water for about 40% of India's population, approximately 500 million people, we couldn’t find more than any other river in the world [ 1, 2 ]. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has mentioned that 764 grossly polluting industries were discharging into the Ganga river, 487 industries are from the Kanpur region. Therefore, the Kanpur region was treated as the main polluted spot and immediate action should be taken for further recovery of water quality. The Kanpur region is one of the most important industrialized place in India. It is the most polluted stretch of the Ganga River, because of its excessive pollutant discharge from the i...

Electric Vehicle: Public Health and Climate Benefits

A research team led by Daniel Peters at Northwestern University has investigated that if we introducing electrifying vehicles in the streets of the United States could annually prevent hundreds-to-thousands of premature accidental deaths.This work highlights the potential of a synergistic solution to reduce CO 2 emissions by hundreds to millions of tons annually. The estimate of economic damages induced by introducing electrifying vehicles (EV) adoption is substantial. With current infrastructure, about 25% of electrifying vehicles adoption in the US can save approximately $16.8 billion annually, has been told in the study entitled"Public Health and Climate Benefits and Trade offs of U.S. Vehicle Electrification," in GeoHealth on 13 th August 2020 [1] . Vehicle electrification in the United States could prevent hundreds to thousands of premature deaths annually while reducing carbon emissions by hundreds of millions of tons. This highlights the potential of co-beneficial...

Efficient Bio-Diesel Synthesis: Reusable Magnetic Catalysis

Prof. Anping Wang et al., with his research collaborative team from china ( 1. Guizhou University, China; and 2. Guizhou Normal University, China) and India (National Chemical Laboratory, India) have reviewed the research over views on the preparation methods, physicochemical properties, stabilization/functionalization, and the catalytic applications of magnetic materials, including magnetic acids, bases, enzymes, and acid-base bifunctional materials for the synthesis of bio-diesel. Here, we discuss only the preparation of efficient bio-diesel with merits and applications of magnetic nanocatalyst for the bio-diesel preparation . Bio-diesel products are mainly attain from bio mass feed stocks, which gives more attention in the biorefinery research affairs [1]. A green way of renewable liquid biofuels are emergency required one in present atmosphere. Among the various classes, best one is renewable diesel fuel, the chemical content of long-chain fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) or ethy...

Plasmonic Gold Nanoparticles as Designing Caps

Plasmonic nanomaterials have attracted significant interest because of its wide variety of applications such as sensing, energy conversion, photothermal therapy etc. Among the various plasmonic inorganic metals (Ag, Cu, Al, and Au) Au shows the excellent biocompatibility, chemical stability, and rich surface functionality. It can be seen that some new approaches have include the construction of metal shells on dielectric nanoparticles, and the control of island growth on nanoparticles and nanorods over the design of narrow gaps via nanoplates or nanoshells. Also, the conventional modulation of plasmonics via the control of shape, size and the aspect ratio of nanomaterials. The structural control have also arises from the active surface growth. As a result, the dynamic competition between ligand absorption and metal deposition occurs [ 1 ]. The properties of plasmonic nanostructures are highly dependent on its surface morphology, however, there are a very few methods for a...

Scientific Research Focus on “To End Hunger”

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO UN), Hunger Report, Ending hunger is a major objective of the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), hunger is the term used to define periods when populations are experiencing severe food insecurity - means that they go for entire days without eating due to lack of money, lack of access to food, or other resources [ 1 ]. Hunger is strongly interconnected with poverty, and it involves interactions among an array of social, political, demographic, and societal factors. An attention is must in the following topics to put an end card for poor hunger: Global Hunger Index (GHI). World Food Program’s 2020. Global Report on Food Crises. Smallholder-farming. Ceres2030. The two main international institutions are the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) , joined forces to estimate what it would cost to ...

New Smart Face Mask: Lab-on-Mask

Face masks have become a part of many people's everyday wardrobe due to the coronavirus pandemic. Researchers, designers, and everyday people have shown their imagination and creativity by turning face masks into art projects and expressions of identity. While the work on the COVID-19 vaccine is still in progress, people have advised to maintain social distance, personal hygiene in public places, in addition, to mandatorily wear face masks all-the-time outside of the home. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Most of our peoples are infected due to COVID-19, they will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. The coronavirus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, speaks, and sings [ 1 ]. Older people and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular dise...

Eco-Friendly Smart Green Cities

In the world, 55% of the population lives in cities and is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. Cities are identified by their stunning skyscrapers which turn out to consume 75% of total power consumption. It is most important to emphasize energy efficiency and nonpolluting building materials used for construction. These days buildings have different types of designs to satisfy the specific requirements of its purpose and people who live and work in them. As time goes, with growing technology, the building constructions need to be designed and function with real-time natural environments with land, water and solar energy [ 1 ] . Thus sustainable practices and materials for building design and function are necessary for a sustainable future. According to the world green building council, a building in its architecture, construction or function, eliminates negative impacts and generates positive impacts on our environment is referred as a green building. Green buildings are mostly d...

Giant Spontaneous Hall Effect Without a Magnet

Surprising phenomenon in the solid state physics was “ The Hall effect, which requires normally magnetic fields, can also be generated completely in a different way by without the magnet to give an extreme strength ” – Published by Sami Dzsabera et al., in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, on 19 th February 2021. Weyl–Kondo semimetal have been discovered recently, the three-dimensional (3D) Dirac cones that describes with massless relativistic quasiparticles, which was stabilized by breaking via either time-reversal symmetry (TRS) or inversion symmetry (IS). Sami Dzsabera et al., have reported the discovery of a giant spontaneous Hall effect in 3D materials, which have not only identifies an ideal technique. However, it will demonstrates a strong correlations that can drive extreme topological responses, which we can expect to trigger for future work. Further, they reported that the giant spontaneous Hall effect of semimetal seems to be th...

Detection of Cancer via New Nano-Based Imaging Agents

New imaging agents were developed by physicians to detect cancer with better specificity and sensitivity. Further, they have the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes. It could offer enhanced premature cancer cells detection during routine screening and help the surgeons to identify tumor margins for surgical resection. Figure 1. In vivo visualization of 200 nm G8-liposomes imaged following intravenous injection [ 1 ]. Notice the bright accumulation and homogenous appearance of liposomes encapsulated with G8 dye (green). The vasculature region depicted here is of the mouse ear where real time flow video was taken at 30 fps. Scale bar represents 50 μm. Recently, Helen R. Salinas et al ., has evaluated the optical properties from a colorful class of pigments and dyes that humans routinely encounter [ 1 ]. These selective dyes and pigments are approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which have utilized for the coloring of foods, drugs, and cosmetics. The authors...

Search This Blog