Pt counter electrodes (CE) were been prepared using ion sputtering method on indium-doped tinoxide coated polyethylene terephthalate (ITO-PET) for flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The effect of sputtering time on the properties was characterized by Feld emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), electrochemical impedance (EIS) and UV-vis absorption spectra. The flexible CE show increased catalytic activity but reduced transmittance when the sputtering time is increased from 0 to 80 s. The light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of the DSSCs assembled with the high catalytic activity flexible CE attained a conversion efficiency of 4.0% by using Ti foil as the photoanode substrate under the simulated AM 1.5 sunlight. The results reveal that ion sputtering is an effective method for depositing platinum nanoparticles on plastic substrates with low cost under room-temperature.
The highly dispersed TiO2 sols composed of anatase crystallites (ca.5 nm) were prepared by peptization of amorphous precipitates with trifluoroactic acid (TFA) during the synthesis. The size and crystallinity of the particles were tuned by the subsequent hydrothermal treatment. The prepared TiO2 nanocrystals were characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TEM results indicated that the growth of the crystallites could be inhibited by the increasing addition of TFA and the average sizes of TiO2 nanocrystals were all ultrafine. The degradation of phenol over the nanocrystals after calcination at 500 °C was investigated. The photocatalytic results showed that the sample with a high addition of TFA obtained a better photocatalytic property than that of the commercial TiO2
The core/shell structured rutile/apatite was prepared by soaking rutile TiO2 (R-TiO2) microspheres into a simulated body fluid (SBF) only for 1 day. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and N2 adsorption measurements. XRD showed that the apatite content increased with prolonging the soaking time or increasing the SBF concentration. TEM and EDX demonstrated that apatite had been coated on the surface of R-TiO2 microspheres successfully. HRTEM indicated that the lattice spacings of 0.27 nm and 0.32 nm were assigned to (211) plane of apatite and (101) plane of R-TiO2, respectively.
A new kind of Ca4Si2O7F2:Ce3+, Tb3+, Sm3+ oxyfluoride phosphor micron belt mat was obatained by simply electrospinning process and subsequent heat treatment. XRD result shows that a pure Ca4Si2O7F2 phase can be obtained at low temperature of around 900 °C. The micron belt precursor has a smooth surface and uniform morphology, and the width and thickness of the belt is about 2 μm and 200 nm. The morphology of micron belt is well retained after heat treatment, forming a plat phosphor mat consisting of uniform micron belt network. Ca4Si2O7F2:Ce3+, Ca4Si2O7F2:Tb3+, and Ca4Si2O7F2:Sm3+ exhibit the characteristic emissions of Ce3+ (4f7→4f65d1, blue), Tb3+ (4f8→4f75d, green), and Sm3+ (4f6→4f65d, red) under the excitation of near-UV light, respectively. By adjusting the doping concentration of Ce3+, Tb3+, Sm3+ ions a white emission in a single phase was obtained under the excitation of 360 nm. We have demonstrated that Ca4Si2O7F2:Ce3+, Tb3+, Sm3+ phosphor mat can be a promising candidate for a color-tunable phosphor mat applied in a near-UV White light emitting diodes.
The PANI/ITO conducting nanocomposites have been synthesized by in-situ polymerization. The obtained nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared. Electrical conductivity measurements on the samples pressed into pellets showed that the maximum conductivity attained 2.0 ± 0.05 S/cm for PANI/ITO nanocomposites, at ITO doping concentration of 10 wt%. The results of the present work may provide a simple, rapid and efficient approach for preparing PANI/ITO nanocomposites.
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