Jeong Ah Chang

High-Performance Nanostructured Inorganic−Organic Heterojunction Solar Cells

We report all solid-state nanostructured inorganic-organic heterojunction solar cells fabricated by depositing Sb(2)S(3) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) on the surface of a mesoporous TiO(2) layer, where Sb(2)S(3) acts as an absorbing semiconductor and P3HT acts as both a hole conductor and light absorber. These inorganic-organic light harvesters perform remarkably well with a maximum incident-photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) of 80% and power conversion efficiency of 5.13% under air-mass 1.5 global (AM 1.5G) illumination with the intensity of 100 mW cm(-2). These devices are highly stable under room light in air, even without encapsulation. The present findings offer novel directions for achieving high-efficiency solid-state solar cells by hybridization of inorganic-organic light harvesters and hole transporters.

Hole-conducting mediator for stable Sb2S3-sensitized photoelectrochemical solar cells

Iodide redox (3I−/I3−), polysulfide redox (S2−/Sx2−), organic redox [TMTU/TMFDS2+: tetramethylthiourea/tetramethylformaminium-bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide], ferrocene redox (Fc/Fc+), nickel redox [Ni(II)/Ni(III)], and cobalt redox [Co(II)/Co(III)] hole conducting electrolytes were systematically investigated to determine their suitability for use in Sb2S3-sensitized photoelectrochemical solar cells. A long-term stability test and UV-visible spectral analyses revealed that Sb2S3-sensitized photoelectrochemical solar cells worked stably with Co(II)(o-phen)3(TFSI)2/Co(III)(o-phen)3(TFSI)3 [TFSI: bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide] as the redox mediator.

Colloidal TiO2 nanocrystals prepared from peroxotitanium complex solutions: Phase evolution from different precursors

We report the preparation of nanocrystalline anatase and rutile TiO(2) from aqueous peroxotitanium complex (PTC) solutions and their characterization by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The phase evolution of TiO(2) prepared using PTC derived from different precursors, i.e., TiCl(4) and titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP), is related to the nature of the intermediate steps. Phase-pure nanoanatase was formed in PTC solution derived from TiCl(4), while a mixture of minor anatase and dominant rutile were prepared from PTC when TTIP was used as precursor. On the other hand, in the case of calcining PTC powders in air, a pure anatase phase of TiO(2) was obtained, regardless of the precursor used. Thus, the formation and attachment of hydrated TiO(6) units or TiO(2)·xH(2)O under a different environment, especially pH, plays a critical role in determining the phase during the crystallization of TiO(2).