Synthesis, electron transport properties of transition metal nitrides and applications

Ningthoujam, R. S.; Gajbhiye, N. S.

doi:10.1016/j.pmatsci.2014.11.004

Cited by 145 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 269 publications

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“…This is due to the fact that these transition metal compounds have electronic structures similar to noble metal Pt, with interstitial phases or interstitial compounds, and they show Pt-like behavior. [457][458][459][460][461] Consequently, it is not surprising that certain TMCs may replace platinum as CE materials in DSSCs. Since 2009, some metal compounds including carbides, nitrides, chalcogenides, oxides, phosphides, and so on have been applied in DSSCs as CEs to replace expensive Pt CE.…”

Section: Transition Metal Compound Counter Electrodesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

et al. 2017

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Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are regarded as prospective solar cells for the next generation of photovoltaic technologies and have become research hotspots in the PV field. The counter electrode, as a crucial component of DSSCs, collects electrons from the external circuit and catalyzes the redox reduction in the electrolyte, which has a significant influence on the photovoltaic performance, long-term stability and cost of the devices. Solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells, as well as the structure, principle, preparation and characterization of counter electrodes are mentioned in the introduction section. The next six sections discuss the counter electrodes based on transparency and flexibility, metals and alloys, carbon materials, conductive polymers, transition metal compounds, and hybrids, respectively. The special features and performance, advantages and disadvantages, preparation, characterization, mechanisms, important events and development histories of various counter electrodes are presented. In the eighth section, the development of counter electrodes is summarized with an outlook. This article panoramically reviews the counter electrodes in DSSCs, which is of great significance for enhancing the development levels of DSSCs and other photoelectrochemical devices.

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Section: Transition Metal Compound Counter Electrodesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

et al. 2017

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“…Resistivities of polycrystalline films are typ- ically in the range of 25-1000 µΩ cm [75,[83][84][85]. Such an increase in resistivity from a single-crystal to a polycrystalline film is due to scattering from the grain boundaries, vacancies and possibly also oxynitrides associated with the polycrystalline TiN [83,86]. Moreover, there is also an influence of the layer thickness and grain size on the resistivity.…”

Section: Electronic and Optical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, there is also an influence of the layer thickness and grain size on the resistivity. If the films are thinner or the grains are smaller, then scattering of conduction electrons at surfaces or interfaces will add to the overall resistivity [83]. The optical properties of TiN are closely related to the electronic properties.…”

Section: Electronic and Optical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-resolution characterization of TiN diffusion barrier layers

Mühlbacher¹

2015

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Titanium nitride (TiN) films are widely applied as diffusion barrier layers in microelectronic devices. The continued miniaturization of such devices not only poses new challenges to material systems design, but also puts high demands on characterization techniques. To gain understanding of diffusion processes that can eventually lead to failure of the barrier layer and thus of the whole device, it is essential to develop routines to chemically and structurally investigate these layers down to the atomic scale. In the present study, model TiN diffusion barriers with a Cu overlayer acting as the diffusion source were grown by reactive magnetron sputtering on MgO(001) and thermally oxidized Si(001) substrates. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) of the pristine samples revealed epitaxial, single-crystalline growth of TiN on MgO(001), while the polycrystalline TiN grown on Si(001) exhibited a [001]-oriented columnar microstructure. Various annealing treatments were carried out to induce diffusion of Cu into the TiN layer. Subsequently, XTEM images were recorded with a high-angle annular dark field detector, which provides strong elemental contrast, to illuminate the correlation between the structure and the barrier efficiency of the single- and polycrystalline TiN layers. Particular regions of interest were investigated more closely by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) mapping. These investigations are completed by atom probe tomography (APT) studies, which provide a three-dimensional insight into the elemental distribution at the near-interface region with atomic chemical resolution and high sensitivity. In case of the single-crystalline barrier, a uniform Cu-enriched diffusion layer of 12 nm could be detected at the interface after an annealing treatment at 1000 °C for 12 h. This excellent barrier performance can be attributed to the lack of fast diffusion paths such as grain boundaries. Moreover, density-functional theory calculations predict a stoichiometry-dependent atomic diffusion mechanism of Cu in bulk TiN, with Cu diffusing on the N-sublattice for the experimental N/Ti ratio. In comparison, the polycrystalline TiN layers exhibited grain boundaries reaching from the Cu-TiN interface to the substrate, thus providing direct diffusion paths for Cu. However, the microstructure of these columnar layers was still dense without open porosity or voids, so that the onset of grain boundary diffusion could only be found after annealing at 900 °C for 1 h. The present study shows how to combine two high resolution state-of-the-art methods, TEM and APT, to characterize model TiN diffusion barriers. It is shown how to correlate the microstructure with the performance of the barrier layer by two-dimensional EDX mapping and three-dimensional APT. Highly effective Cu-diffusion barrier function is thus demonstrated for single-crystal TiN(001) (up to 1000 °C) and dense polycrystalline TiN (900 °C)

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“…[1][2][3][4][5] Ta king into account these advantages,alarge amounto fr esearch has focused on the metal nitrides, showing that metal nitrides had potentiala pplicationsi nv ariousf ields, such as high thermal conductivity materials, catalysts (electrochemical reactiona nd hydrotreating process), luminescence devices,s uperhard coatings, as well as superconducting and magnetic materials. They possess an umber of excellent properties, such as high melting points, high chemical stability, corrosion resistance as well as high hardness and good electrical conductivity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They possess an umber of excellent properties, such as high melting points, high chemical stability, corrosion resistance as well as high hardness and good electrical conductivity. [1][2][3][4][5] Ta king into account these advantages,alarge amounto fr esearch has focused on the metal nitrides, showing that metal nitrides had potentiala pplicationsi nv ariousf ields, such as high thermal conductivity materials, catalysts (electrochemical reactiona nd hydrotreating process), luminescence devices,s uperhard coatings, as well as superconducting and magnetic materials. In particular, iron nitride triggered considerable research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Magnetic γ′‐Fe₄N/Fe₃C, χ‐Fe₅C₂, and θ‐Fe₃C by a Simple Route for Application as Electrochemical Catalysts

Lei

Zhao

et al. 2017

Chemistry A European J

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An ew and simple methodt of abricate magnetic Fe 4 N/Fe 3 Cs amples is reported.M eanwhile, pure phase iron carbides (q-Fe 3 Ca nd c-Fe 5 C 2 )w ere obtained by controlling experimental conditions.T he structures, magnetic properties, and morphology of the samples were investigated according to the generalized analysiso fX -ray diffraction,X -ray photoelectrons pectroscopy,a sw ell as transmission electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry.T he magnetic properties measurement revealed the remarkable magnetic properties of the samples at 2a nd 300 K. The application of the prepared samples as catalysts for oxygen evolution reactionw as also investigated in alkaline solution.T his simple and convenient route provides an ew path to fabricate other metal nitrides and carbides.

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Synthesis, electron transport properties of transition metal nitrides and applications

Cited by 145 publications

References 269 publications

Counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

Counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

High-resolution characterization of TiN diffusion barrier layers

Magnetic γ′‐Fe₄N/Fe₃C, χ‐Fe₅C₂, and θ‐Fe₃C by a Simple Route for Application as Electrochemical Catalysts

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Synthesis, electron transport properties of transition metal nitrides and applications

Cited by 145 publications

References 269 publications

Counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

Counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

High-resolution characterization of TiN diffusion barrier layers

Magnetic γ′‐Fe4N/Fe3C, χ‐Fe5C2, and θ‐Fe3C by a Simple Route for Application as Electrochemical Catalysts

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Magnetic γ′‐Fe₄N/Fe₃C, χ‐Fe₅C₂, and θ‐Fe₃C by a Simple Route for Application as Electrochemical Catalysts