Journal article
Efficiency and stability improvement of natural dye‐sensitized solar cells using the electrospun composite of TiO 2 nanofibres doped by the bio‐Ca nanoparticles
International Journal of Energy Research, Vol.46(11), pp.15407-15418
2022
Abstract
The dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) can be effectively improved and stabilized by outstanding electrical and morphological characteristics of TiO2 nanofibres combined with bio-calcium doping. The pristine and bio-Ca-doped TiO2 nanofibres were fabricated using a cost-effective electrospinning technique. Biocompatible calcium carbonate nanoparticles (bio-Ca) were synthesized from the cuttlebone of Sepia Pharaonis. Moreover, a facile one-step procedure was employed to fabricate efficient TiO2 nanofibres-based DSSCs using a Pechini-type sol. This approach produced a highly porous dense film of TiO2 upon sintering without the need for the hot-pressing or adhesion layer steps. Based on the results, the DSSCs fabricated by the bio-Ca-doped TiO2 nanofibres showed the highest Isc, Voc, and η of 2.19 mA, 0.41 V, and 1.48% respectively. This superiority could be due to the higher specific surface area and the relatively smaller average diameter observed for bio-Ca-doped TiO2 nanofibres, which improved dye-loading and guided electron transport respectively. In addition, Ca2+ doping significantly suppressed the photocatalytic activity in the bio-Ca-doped TiO2 nanofibres owing to the formation of the TiO2 rutile-anatase combined phase. Besides, the substitution of Ti4+ with Ca2+ positively affects the conduction band of TiO2 and causes trap sites that retard the charge recombination. Our results also demonstrated that the bio-Ca-doped TiO2 nanofibres-based DSSC maintained about 78.38% of its initial efficiency after two weeks, while DSSCs fabricated by the TiO2 nanofibres and TiO2 nanoparticles retained 63.71% and 27.38% respectively. The superior stability could be due to the combined effect of nanoparticles into nanofibres transformation and bio-Ca doping.
Details
- Title
- Efficiency and stability improvement of natural dye‐sensitized solar cells using the electrospun composite of TiO 2 nanofibres doped by the bio‐Ca nanoparticles
- Authors/Creators
- M. Golshan (Author/Creator)S. Osfouri (Author/Creator)R. Azin (Author/Creator)T. Jalali (Author/Creator)N.R. Moheimani (Author/Creator)
- Publication Details
- International Journal of Energy Research, Vol.46(11), pp.15407-15418
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons Ltd
- Identifiers
- 991005540419507891
- Copyright
- © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Algae R&D Centre; School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 2 Chemistry
- 2.74 Photocatalysts
- 2.74.740 Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
- Web Of Science research areas
- Energy & Fuels
- Nuclear Science & Technology
- ESI research areas
- Engineering