Electrolyte membranes based on ultrafine fibers of acetylated cellulose for improved and long-lasting dye-sensitized solar cells

Kaschuk, Joice Jaqueline; Miettunen, Kati; Borghei, Maryam; Frollini, Elisabete; Rojas, Orlando J.

doi:10.1007/s10570-019-02520-y

Cited by 15 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…A viable solution is the replacement of hydroxyl or amino groups with more polar groups, such as carboxymethyl, hexanoyl, and cyanoethyl groups, in order to provide more active sites for ion transportation. [425,429] Regarding the fabrication of a bio-based electrodes for flexible DSSCs, CRCF and DNA have been identified as the best candidates (Table 4). As the most relevant result, DNA-TiO 2 photoelectrodes have led to PCE of 9.23%.…”

Section: Conclusion and Future Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Merging Biology and Photovoltaics: How Nature Helps Sun‐Catching

Cavinato

Fresta

Ferrara

et al. 2021

Advanced Energy Materials

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conditions. This makes difficult to further reduce the cost of electricity production. [7,8] Furthermore, although solar energy is a renewable source, it does not mean that any kind of photovoltaics (PV) is sustainable. For instance, silicon is an essential material in electronics and solar industries and, up to date, is irreplaceable. Despite its abundancy in Earth's crust, it is for the vast majority (80%) present as ferrosilicon, whose purification is expensive and highly pollutant. The production of 1 ton of silicon requires 6 tons of raw materials, almost 3 tons of Quartz, 1.5 tons of reducing agents, 1.5 tons of wood and 13 000 kWh of energy. [9,10] Therefore, in 2014 the EU commission included silicon metal in the critical raw material (CRM) list. [11] In this context, the third generation PV has reborn, offering cost-effective and efficient CRM-free devices with a lower reliance on the incident angle of light and integration in smart-end applications, like flexible and wearable devices, [12][13][14] fully transparent solar cells and windows, [15,16] and biocompatible devices. [17][18][19] The leading third generation SCs are organic solar cells (OSCs), [20][21][22] perovskite solar cells (PSCs), [23][24][25][26][27] and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). [28][29][30] Despite their versatile applications and high performances, sustainability still represents a major issue toward becoming an ideal energy technology in the mid-long term future. Among others, fullerene-based materials are toxic, [31] indium tin oxide (ITO) is brittle, chemically unstable, and expensive due to limited indium sources on Earth's crust. [32,33] Cobalt is also listed as CRM, [11] while cadmium, selenium, lead and ruthenium are toxic materials. [34,35] With regard to flexible devices, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the standard substrate; though its environmental footprint is critical and its nonbiodegradable properties lead to harmful effects in living organisms. [36] This has fueled a strong cooperation among the fields of engineering, biology, chemistry, and physics to discover new strategies for cost-effectiveness preparation and implementation of bio-derived materials in highly performing PVs.In general, this cooperation constitutes a part of the emerging and multidisciplinary field of biophotonics, [37] which involves biomedical optics, [38] living light, [39][40][41] biomimetic, biomaterials and bioengineered compounds, as well as fabrication/implementation methods applied to optoelectronics [42] and photonics, [43] among others. For instance, artificial lightning and biology have been recently merged with the implementation of cellulose, chitosan, silk, and fluorescent proteins as Accomplishing sustainability in optoelectronics, in general, and photovoltaics (PV), in particular, represents a crucial milestone in green photonics. Third generation PV technologies, such as organic solar cells (OSCs), perovskite solar cells (PSCs), and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have reached a mature age and are slowly making thei...

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Section: Conclusion and Future Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Merging Biology and Photovoltaics: How Nature Helps Sun‐Catching

Cavinato

Fresta

Ferrara

et al. 2021

Advanced Energy Materials

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“…Electrospun products have already been studied for many applications such as wound healing [ 12 , 13 ], tissue engineering [ 14 , 15 ], drug-releasing and drug target delivery systems [ 16 , 17 ], sensors [ 18 , 19 ], membranes [ 20 , 21 ], batteries [ 22 , 23 ], solar cells [ 24 , 25 ], catalysts [ 26 , 27 ], protecting clothing [ 28 , 29 ], separation [ 30 ], decommissioning [ 31 ], and environmental remediation [ 32 ]. However, the randomly arranged ultrafine fibers in the electrospun membranes, the high surface area to volume ratios, nano-porosity, good mechanical properties, and vapor permeability of such membranes pre-destined them for filtration membranes and especially for personal protection as face masks against very fine dirt and bacteria, but also viruses with dimensions of about 100 nm [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrospun Poly(ethylene Terephthalate)/Silk Fibroin Composite for Filtration Application

et al. 2021

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In this study, fibrous membranes from recycled-poly(ethylene terephthalate)/silk fibroin (r-PSF) were prepared by electrospinning for filtration applications. The effect of silk fibroin on morphology, fibers diameters, pores size, wettability, chemical structure, thermo-mechanical properties, filtration efficiency, filtration performance, and comfort properties such as air and water vapor permeability was investigated. The filtration efficiency (FE) and quality factor (Qf), which represents filtration performance, were calculated from penetration through the membranes using aerosol particles ranging from 120 nm to 2.46 μm. The fiber diameter influenced both FE and Qf. However, the basis weight of the membranes has an effect, especially on the FE. The prepared membranes were classified according to EN149, and the most effective was assigned to the class FFP1 and according to EN1822 to the class H13. The impact of silk fibroin on the air permeability was assessed. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity against bacteria S. aureus and E. coli and biocompatibility were evaluated. It is discussed that antibacterial activity depends not only on the type of used materials but also on fibrous membranes’ surface wettability. In vitro biocompatibility of the selected samples was studied, and it was proven to be of the non-cytotoxic effect of the keratinocytes (HaCaT) after 48 h of incubation.

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“…From the beginning of polymeric electrolyte application in DSSCs, synthetic polymers have been used extensively in pristine, mixed, and composite forms including nanocomposites of many inorganic additives. ,− Some of the most commonly used synthetic polymers for the preparation of electrolytes are poly(ethylene oxide), ,,− ,− poly(propylene oxide), − poly(acrylonitrile), − poly(butyl acrylate), , poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl chloride), , poly(vinyl pyrrolidinone), − poly(vinylidene fluoride), − and poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene). − However, as these polymers are synthetically manufactured and not ecofriendly, recently much attention has been given to the possible application of biopolymers in DSSCs. Among many biopolymers, polysaccharides like cellulose, − carrageenan, ,− agarose, ,−…”

Section: Polymer Electrolytesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biopolymer-Based Electrolytes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: A Critical Review

2020

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Continual escalation of our world population demands a vast and safe energy supply, the majority of which has been produced by fossil fuel sources. However, because of the huge energy demand, exponential depletion of these nonrenewable energy sources is inescapable and forthcoming in the coming century. Hence, utilization of renewable energy such as solar energy has gained attention because of its direct conversion of light energy into electrical power without any harmful environmental impacts. Solar energy has been harvested by different types of solar cells varying from inorganic to organic to the combination of both. Among them, the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) with a biopolymer-based electrolyte has gained enormous consideration from researchers because of its sustainability, abundance of available raw material, low production cost, and easy production in addition to the low volatilization of electrolytes compared to liquid state electrolytes. This review aims to give an overview of the recent inputs in the development of biopolymer-based DSSCs. The performance of the biopolymers as electrolytes in DSSCs will be critically reviewed based on the physicochemical properties of the biopolymers. Key technical challenges and future research areas for the advancement of biopolymer-based DSSCs are also discussed.

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Electrolyte membranes based on ultrafine fibers of acetylated cellulose for improved and long-lasting dye-sensitized solar cells

Cited by 15 publications

References 30 publications

Merging Biology and Photovoltaics: How Nature Helps Sun‐Catching

Merging Biology and Photovoltaics: How Nature Helps Sun‐Catching

Electrospun Poly(ethylene Terephthalate)/Silk Fibroin Composite for Filtration Application

Biopolymer-Based Electrolytes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: A Critical Review

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