rGO Sheets/ZnFe2O4 Nanocomposities as an Efficient Electro Catalyst Material for I3−/I− Reaction for High Performance DSSCs

Abstract

In this paper, Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) / ZnFe 2 O 4 (rZnF) nanocomposite is synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method and employed as a counter electrode (CE) material for tri-iodide redox reactions in Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) to replace the traditional high cost platinum (Pt) CE. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and High resolution Transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), clearly indicated the formation of rZnF nanocomposite and also amorphous rGO sheets were smoothly distributed on the surface of ZnFe 2 O 4 (ZnF) nanostructure. The rZnF-50 CE shows excellent electro catalytic activity toward I 3 − reduction, which has simultaneously been con rmed by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel polarization measurements. A DSSC developed by rZnF-50 CE (η = 8.71%) obtained quite higher than the Pt (η = 8.53%) based CE under the same condition. The superior performances of rZnF-50 CE due to addition of graphene in to Spinel (ZnF) nanostructure results in creation of highly active electrochemical sites, fast electron transport linkage between CE and electrolyte. Thus it's a promising low cost CE material for DSSCs.

Effect of manganese doping on the structural, mechanical, optical, and magnetic properties of zinc ferrite nanoparticles

“…Nanoferrites, a potential candidate in the domains of audio and video technology, frequency circuits, biological sciences, telecommunications, filters, colour imaging, and magnetic sensors, may be made by changing the magnetic properties [5,6]. Zinc ferrite nanoparticles have attracted the scientific community's interest because they exhibit n-type semiconductor behaviour with high thermal and chemical stability, excellent electrical and magnetic performances, and a cubic spinel structure having Fd m 3 space group symmetry [7,8]. The magnetic properties of the zinc nanoferrite system are significantly influenced by particle size and can be enhanced when the particle size is reduced to a few tens of nanometers.…”