Ellen Raphael

CÉLULAS SOLARES DE PEROVSKITAS: UMA NOVA TECNOLOGIA EMERGENTE

PEROVSKITES SOLAR CELLS: A NEW EMERGING TECHNOLOGY. Solar energy has been considered as an important source of clean and safe energy to overcome the problems associate to the burn of fossil fuels (e.g. climate changes, pollution, health problems, etc.). In the area of photovoltaics, devices that convert solar energy into electricity, perovskites solar cells (PSC) have attracted great attention due to their rapid development, high energy conversion efficiency, diversification of the processing methods and different materials. The fantastic properties of the hybrid perovskite materials, such as high absorption coefficient, direct and tunable bandgap, ambipolar charge carrier, simple preparation, etc., have quoted this technology as one the most important in this century. The rapid development of PSC has provided a significant increase in energy conversion efficiency, which was first reported, in 2009, as 3.8% and now reaches up to 22.10%, according to the National Laboratory of Renewable Energy (NREL). Many studies have been carried out to further increase the efficiency of devices and solve problems as the instability of the material, and the presence of lead, so that the PSC can be applied commercially. This paper presents a review on PSC and the major advances reported in device’s architecture, preparation methods, novel materials and interface engineering.

The Role that Electrolytes Play in the Synthesis of Water-Soluble CdTe Quantum Dots Prepared at Ambient Temperature

In this work, we have synthesized CdTe quantum dots (QDs) dispersed in an aqueous medium at ambient temperature, and investigated their optical properties. Synthesis of CdTe QDs in the presence of simple amines removed the need for an additional energy source and inert atmosphere, in a simple and inexpensive experimental setup. The use of ammonia or hydrazine promoted nanoparticle growth by kinetic nanocrystal agglomeration in the initial growth stage. These weak electrolytes acted in the electrical double layer during the growth of the nanocrystals. A comparative study on the concentration of hydrazine in the reaction medium helped to investigate their role in nanocrystal growth. Substitution of hydrazine for ethylenediamine and other electrolytes like sodium chloride and ammonium chloride contributed to a better understanding of the mechanism that underlies the use of primary amines in the synthesis of CdTe. The synthesis conditions afforded the highest photoluminescence quantum yield for CdTe QDs prepared at room temperature (27.5%).

Synthesis, Properties and Applications of Nanostructured Zinc Oxide

Nanostructured materials are undergoing rapid development due to their potential applications in a wide variety of technological areas such as electronics, catalysis, ceramics, photodetectors, sensors, solar cells, among others. However, it is fundamental the studies of the properties, synthesis conditions and applications of nanostructured materials. A material that has been highlighted due to its mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical and chemical properties is the zinc oxide (ZnO). In zinc oxide such properties mainly depend on the size and morphology of the material. Therefore, the present paper aims to conduct a literature review on the main synthesis methods to obtain different ZnO nanostructures.