New design of potentially low-cost solar cells using TiO2/graphite composite as photon absorber

Abstract

We propose a solar cell design using the combination of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) and graphite as active photon absorbing materials. TiO 2 absorbs photons of nearly ultraviolet wavelengths to produce electron-hole pairs, while graphite is expected to absorb photons of longer wavelengths. Although many authors have claimed that graphite is a semimetal, we observed that a model of a solar cell containing TiO 2 only as the active material behaves exactly the same as a model containing graphite only as the active material. Additionally, we observed that a model of a solar cell made using a composite of TiO 2 and graphite as the active material had much higher efficiency than solar cells made using TiO 2 -or graphite-only active materials. Although the highest efficiency we report here is approximately 1 %, our proposed solar cell structure is promising for mass application, especially in low-income settings, owing to its easy and flexible fabrication, and easy largescale application.

Development of a Low-Cost TiO2/CuO/Cu Solar Cell by using Combined Spraying and Electroplating Method

“…Moreover, Li, et al [14] reported a highest efficiency of only 0.01% and a fill factor of 0.27. In addition, our efficiency result is also higher than the older results reported by Rahman, et al [15] with a similar cell structure.…”

“…This indicates that the structure of a TiO 2 /CuO/Cu solar cell is better than of a TiO 2 /Cu cell. This result can also be considered high compared to those reported in previous papers [7,13,14,15]. Saehana and Muslimin [13] reported that the highest efficiency was only 1.05% with a similar cell structure.…”

PENGARUH PENAMBAHAN Na-ALGINAT DALAM PROSES EKSFOLIASI GRAFIT DENGAN METODE PENCAMPURAN

“…Penelitian terdahulu yang membuktikan sifat semikonduktor pada grafit, diantaranya sebagai semikonduktor sel surya [7], grafit sebagai semikonduktor fotokatalist [8], dan grafit-grafen sebagai material semikonduktor magnet dielektrik [9], dan juga banyak digunakan sebagai elektroda karena sifat konduktornya. Namun, grafit dapat teroksidasi oleh oksigen membentuk CO 2 pada temperatur 700 o C [10].…”

Treatment of saline produced water through photocatalysis using rGO-TiO2 nanocomposites

“…In order to reduce such limitations and consequently increase the photocatalytic efficiency of titanium dioxide, several investigations have been recently carried out [4,5]. It has been demonstrated that the addition of graphitic materials to titanium dioxide is one of the most valuable methods to improve the photocatalytic efficiency of pristine TiO2, due to the increased specific surface area and mobility of charge carriers [6,7]. In particular, graphene and reduced graphene oxide have been recently used as supports for loading titania particles due to their superior conductive, mechanical, and chemical properties [8][9][10][11][12][13][14].…”