The potential of metal oxide-based nanocatalysts and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for the methanol and ethanol electrooxidation process is studied in the attempt of introducing cheap and stable nanocatalysts for use in the alcohol oxidation process. In this regard MnO2-NiO (MN), and MnO2-NiO-MWCNT (MNM) are synthesized and characterized in terms of structure and morphology. The electrocatalytic activity of these materials is evaluated by electrochemical tests. MnO2-NiO-MWCNT show 90% cyclic stability after 1000 consecutive cycles in methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and 86% in ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) and maximum current densities of 262 and 148 μA/cm2 in methanol and ethanol electrooxidation, in scan rate of 10 mV/s respectively. Also, the onset potential of MnO2-NiO-MWCNT is lower than MnO
2
-NiO, indicating superior kinetics and facile oxidation of methanol due to the synergistic effect of adding MWCNTs to the structure of MnO2-NiO nanocatalyst. From these results, MnO2-NiO-MWCNT can be an attractive and inexpensive option for use in MOR and EOR process for application in alcohol fuel cells.
Herein, we report the application of electric field assisted sintering (EFAS) procedure in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The EFAS process improved DSSC performance by enhancing optical and electrical characteristics simultaneously. The EFAS procedure is shown to be capable of reducing the TiO2 nanoparticle aggregation leading to the higher surface area for dye molecules adsorbates. Lower nanoparticle aggregation can be evidently observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy imaging. By applying an external electric field, the current density and conversion efficiency improved significantly about 30% and 45%, respectively. UV-Visible spectra of the desorbed dye molecules on the porous nanoparticles bedding confirm a higher amount of dye loading in the presence of an external electric field. Correspondingly, comprehensive J-V characteristics modeling reveals the enhancement of the diffusion coefficient by EFAS process. The proposed method can be applied to improve the efficiency of the mesostructured hybrid perovskite solar cells, photodetectors, and quantum dot-sensitized solar cells, as well as reduction of the surface area loss in all porous media.
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