Three-dimensional nano-foam of few-layer graphene grown by CVD for DSSC

Abstract

We report a robust and direct route to fabricate a three-dimensional nano-foam of few-layer graphene (3D-NFG) with large area coverage via a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. Pyrolysis of polymer/nickel precursor film under a hydrogen environment, simply prepared by spin-coating, leads to the creation of nano-foam in the film and the reduction process of nickel ions. Carbonized-C and the nickel nano-frame formed from the pyrolysis are used as a solid carbon source and as a catalyst for the growth of graphene under CVD conditions, respectively. We investigate the use of 3D-NFG, with the advantage of large surface area and high conductivity, as an alternative to the Pt counter electrode material in dye sensitized solar cells. The excellent properties of 3D-NFG, fabricated in this simple and direct manner, suggest a great potential for interconnected graphene networks in electronic devices and photocatalytic sensors as well as in energy-related materials.

Graphene-based cathodes for liquid-junction dye sensitized solar cells: Electrocatalytic and mass transport effects

“…The catalytic activity of FGS correlated with the amount of oxygen in carbonaceous skeleton, until certain limit, when the electrical conductivity became performance-controlling [63]. The studies of various other graphene cathodes for I-mediated DSCs confirmed that performance comparable to Pt is hard to achieve [60,81,101,[116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125] particularly if optical transparency is also M a n u s c r i p t 13 requested (for review see Refs. [101,114]).…”

Structure, Mechanical and Electrochemical Properties of Thermally Reduced Graphene Oxide-poly (Vinyl Alcohol) Foams

“…The dissociation of the hydroxyl bonds, and other decomposition processes gained high velocity above 250 ºC and ceased down above 450 ºC. [36] The total mass loss of PVA at 500 ºC is ~93%. As the original C content in PVA ([C 2 H 4 O] n ) is 55 wt.%, the loss can be caused not only by the loss of H and O, but also of C through the formation of carbon-containing gases.…”

Macroscopic Graphene Structures: Preparation, Properties, and Applications

“…Moreover, this increase in the number of layers endows thin graphite foams with better mechanical strength and higher electrical conductivity (∼1.3 × 10 5 S m −1 ) compared to that (∼10 3 S m −1 ) of thin graphene foams. Using Ni nano-frames formed from pyrolysis as a template, Jang et al [170] fabricated 3D graphene nano-foam by the CVD method. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-NiCl 2 solution was spin-coated on a 500-nm-thick SiO 2 /Si substrate.…”