Characteristics of ZnO − SnO2 composite nanofibers as a photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells

Bakr, Zinab H. and Wali, Qamar and Yang, Shengyuan and Yousefsadeh, M. and Padmasree, K. P. and Jamil, Ismail and Mohd Hasbi, Ab. Rahim and M. M., Yusoff and Rajan, Jose (2019) Characteristics of ZnO − SnO2 composite nanofibers as a photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 58 (2). pp. 643-653. ISSN 0888-5885 (Print); 1520-5045 (Online). (Published)

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Abstract

Composite materials are aimed to combine properties of their components to achieve a desired device functionality; however, synthesizing them in morphologies such as one-dimensional nanofibers is challenging. This article compares optical and electrical properties of ZnO-SnO2 composite nanofibers (CNFs) synthesized by electrospinning technique for energy-harvesting applications with similar CNFs (TiO2-SnO2) and their single-component nanofibers (NFs). The composite formation is confirmed by X-ray and electron diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses; the morphology is examined by HRTEM and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The electrochemical properties of the CNFs are studied by cyclic voltammetry, absorption spectroscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The CNFs behaved as a single semiconducting material of band gap ∼3.32 (ZnO-SnO2) and ∼3.15 (TiO2-SnO2) eV. The CNFs showed superior photoconversion efficiency (∼5.60% for ZnO-SnO2 and ∼8.0% for TiO2-SnO2 CNFs) compared to its binary counterparts SnO2 (∼3.90%), ZnO (∼1.38%), and TiO2 (∼5.1%) when utilized as photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Indexed by SCOPUS
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Dye-sensitized solar cells; Composite nanofibers; Optical and electrical properties; Semiconducting materials
Subjects:	Q Science > QC Physics Q Science > QD Chemistry T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering
Faculty/Division:	Faculty of Industrial Sciences And Technology
Depositing User:	Prof. Dr. Jose Rajan
Date Deposited:	07 Mar 2019 04:53
Last Modified:	07 Mar 2019 04:53
URI:	http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/24007
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