Synthesis and characterization of TiO2/SiO2 nano composites for solar cell applications

Abstract

The use of titania-silica in photocatalytic process has been proposed as an alternative to the conventional TiO 2 catalysts. Mesoporous materials have been of great interest as catalysts because of their unique textural and structural properties. Mesoporous TiO 2 , SiO 2 nanoparticles and TiO 2 /SiO 2 nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by sol-gel method using titanium (IV) isopropoxide, tetra-ethylorthosilicate as starting materials. The synthesized samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauett-Emmett-Teller and field-dependent photoconductivity. The UV-Vis spectrum of as-synthesized samples shows similar absorption in the visible range. The crystallite size of the as-synthesized samples was calculated by Scherrer's formula. The BET surface area for TiO 2 /SiO 2 nanocomposite is found to be 303 m 2 /g and pore size distribution has average pore diameter about 10 nm. It also confirms the absence of macropores and the presence of micro and mesopores. The field-dependent photoconductivity of TiO 2 /SiO 2 nanocomposite shows nearly 300 folds more than that of TiO 2 nanoparticle for a field of 800 V/cm.

Adsorption and Photocatalytic Processes of Mesoporous SiO2-Coated Monoclinic BiVO4

“…However, the diffraction intensity of BiVO 4 decreased after coating SiO 2 , because the amorphous substance had the negative effect on crystallinity. Alternatively, self–doped Si 4+ ions in the BiVO 4 crystal structure might cause the decreasing crystallinity of BiVO 4 /SiO 2 composites, and resulted in the broader peaks of the composite samples, which are similar to those reported by Phanichphant et al ( 2016 ) for the binary composite CeO 2 /SiO 2 photocatalyts and Kumar et al for TiO 2 /SiO 2 nanocomposites in solar cell applications (Arun Kumar et al, 2012 ).…”

A Comparative Investigation of Dye-Sensitized Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Nanorods Grown on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) Substrates by Direct and Seed-Mediated Hydrothermal Methods

“…The intensity of the dye absorption peaks of the two samples varied widely with the absorption edges redshifting at 525 nm (close to the bandgap of safranine O dye (2.37 eV)) in the visible region of the spectrum in both cases. The above result is a distinctive aspect of charge transfer transitions occurring due to the electron transfer between dye and TiO 2 molecules [41]. It could be seen that the seed-mediated hydrothermal sample exhibits the highest absorption peak with a broader and higher range of absorption, but it is blueshifted in comparison with that of the direct hydrothermal method.…”

“…Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) [1], a promising alternative to the conventional silicon-based solar cells [2], have been introduced to utilize solar energy using porous nanocrystalline Titania (TiO 2 ) film in conjunction with an efficient light-absorbing dye [3,4]. TiO 2 has been a material of interest in various applications due to its excellent physical and chemical stability together with the oxidizing ability of its photogenerated holes [5,6]. A power conversion efficiency of 12.3% has been reported for TiO 2 mesoporous film owing to the high surface area [7].…”

Light trapping and power conversion efficiency of P3HT : nano Si hybrid solar cells

“…The above studies show that the electron transport properties in the UV-Vis region are high, showing it as a potential candidate for solar cell fabrication. 35 The absorption spectra of P3HT : nano-Si active layer in two weight ratios (1 : 1 and 1 : 0.8) blended in three solvents aer coating on quartz substrate are shown in Fig. 7.…”