Yang-Fan Xu

Hydrothermal fabrication of hierarchically anatase TiO2 nanowire arrays on FTO glass for dye-sensitized solar cells.

Hierarchical anatase TiO2 nano-architecture arrays consisting of long TiO2 nanowire trunk and numerous short TiO2 nanorod branches on transparent conductive fluorine-doped tin oxide glass are successfully synthesized for the first time through a facile one-step hydrothermal route without any surfactant and template. Dye-sensitized solar cells based on the hierarchical anatase TiO2 nano-architecture array photoelectrode of 18 μm in length shows a power conversion efficiency of 7.34% because of its higher specific surface area for adsorbing more dye molecules and superior light scattering capacity for boosting the light-harvesting efficiency. The present photovoltaic performance is the highest value for the reported TiO2 nanowires array photoelectrode.

Multistack Integration of Three-Dimensional Hyperbranched Anatase Titania Architectures for High-Efficiency Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

An unprecedented attempt was conducted on suitably functionalized integration of three-dimensional hyperbranched titania architectures for efficient multistack photoanode, constructed via layer-by-layer assembly of hyperbranched hierarchical tree-like titania nanowires (underlayer), branched hierarchical rambutan-like titania hollow submicrometer-sized spheres (intermediate layer), and hyperbranched hierarchical urchin-like titania micrometer-sized spheres (top layer). Owing to favorable charge-collection, superior light harvesting efficiency and extended electron lifetime, the multilayered TiO2-based devices showed greater J(sc) and V(oc) than those of a conventional TiO2 nanoparticle (TNP), and an overall power conversion efficiency of 11.01% (J(sc) = 18.53 mA cm(-2); V(oc) = 827 mV and FF = 0.72) was attained, which remarkably outperformed that of a TNP-based reference cell (η = 7.62%) with a similar film thickness. Meanwhile, the facile and operable film-fabricating technique (hydrothermal and drop-casting) provides a promising scheme and great simplicity for high performance/cost ratio photovoltaic device processability in a sustainable way.

Novel porous molybdenum tungsten phosphide hybrid nanosheets on carbon cloth for efficient hydrogen evolution

Nanostructural modification and chemical composition tuning are paramount to developing effective non-noble hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts for water splitting. Herein, we report a novel excellent porous molybdenum tungsten phosphide (Mo–W–P) hybrid nanosheet catalyst for hydrogen evolution, which is synthesized via in situ phosphidation of molybdenum tungsten oxide (Mo–W–O) hybrid nanowires grown on carbon cloth. The three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical hybrid electrocatalyst exhibits impressively high electrocatalytic activity with a low overpotential of 138 mV required to achieve a high current density of 100 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 52 mV dec−1 in 0.5 M H2SO4, which are significantly higher than those of single MoP nanosheets and WP2 nanorods. Such an outstanding performance of the Mo–W–P hybrid electrocatalyst is attributed to the 3D conductive scaffolds, porous nanosheet structure, and strong synergistic effect of W and Mo atoms in Mo–W–P, making it a very promising catalyst for hydrogen production. Our findings demonstrate that careful control over the morphology and composition of the electrocatalyst can achieve highly efficient hybrid electrocatalysts.

Hierarchical Oriented Anatase TiO2 Nanostructure arrays on Flexible Substrate for Efficient Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

The vertically oriented anatase single crystalline TiO2 nanostructure arrays (TNAs) consisting of TiO2 truncated octahedrons with exposed {001} facets or hierarchical TiO2 nanotubes (HNTs) consisting of numerous nanocrystals on Ti-foil substrate were synthesized via a two-step hydrothermal growth process. The first step hydrothermal reaction of Ti foil and NaOH leads to the formation of H-titanate nanowire arrays, which is further performed the second step hydrothermal reaction to obtain the oriented anatase single crystalline TiO2 nanostructures such as TiO2 nanoarrays assembly with truncated octahedral TiO2 nanocrystals in the presence of NH4F aqueous or hierarchical TiO2 nanotubes with walls made of nanocrystals in the presence of pure water. Subsequently, these TiO2 nanostructures were utilized to produce dye-sensitized solar cells in a backside illumination pattern, yielding a significant high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.66% (TNAs, JSC = 7.46 mA cm−2, VOC = 839 mV, FF = 0.75) and 5.84% (HNTs, JSC = 10.02 mA cm−2, VOC = 817 mV, FF = 0.72), respectively.

Ultra-long anatase TiO2 nanowire arrays with multi-layered configuration on FTO glass for high-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells

A convenient and operable fabrication technique has been demonstrated for self-assembled vertically aligned anatase TiO2 nanowires on FTO glass with tunable length in the range of 15–55 μm for multi-layered configuration photoanode based DSSCs application. DSSCs based on 47 μm-long multi-layered anatase TiO2 nanowire arrays attain a power conversion efficiency of 9.40%, which is the highest value for nanowire array based DSSCs to date.

Maximizing omnidirectional light harvesting in metal oxide hyperbranched array architectures

The scrupulous design of nanoarchitectures and smart hybridization of specific active materials are closely related to the overall photovoltaic performance of an anode electrode. Here we present a solution-based strategy for the fabrication of well-aligned metal oxide-based nanowire-nanosheet-nanorod hyperbranched arrays on transparent conducting oxide substrates. For these hyperbranched arrays, we observe a twofold increment in dye adsorption and enhanced light trapping and scattering capability compared with the pristine titanium dioxide nanowires, and thus a power conversion efficiency of 9.09% is achieved. Our growth approach presents a strategy to broaden the photoresponse and maximize the light-harvesting efficiency of arrays architectures, and may lead to applications for energy conversion and storage, catalysis, water splitting and gas sensing.

A CsPbBr3 Perovskite Quantum Dot/Graphene Oxide Composite for Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Halide perovskite quantum dots (QDs), primarily regarded as optoelectronic materials for LED and photovoltaic devices, have not been applied for photochemical conversion (e.g., water splitting or CO2 reduction) applications because of their insufficient stability in the presence of moisture or polar solvents. Herein, we report the use of CsPbBr3 QDs as novel photocatalysts to convert CO2 into solar fuels in nonaqueous media. Under AM 1.5G simulated illumination, the CsPbBr3 QDs steadily generated and injected electrons into CO2, catalyzing CO2 reduction at a rate of 23.7 μmol/g h with a selectivity over 99.3%. Additionally, through the construction of a CsPbBr3 QD/graphene oxide (CsPbBr3 QD/GO) composite, the rate of electron consumption increased 25.5% because of improved electron extraction and transport. This study is anticipated to provide new opportunities to utilize halide perovskite QD materials in photocatalytic applications.

Constructing 3D Branched Nanowire Coated Macroporous Metal Oxide Electrodes with Homogeneous or Heterogeneous Compositions for Efficient Solar Cells

Light-harvesting and charge collection have attracted increasing attention in the domain of photovoltaic cells, and can be facilitated dramatically by appropriate design of a photonic nanostructure. However, the applicability of current light-harvesting photoanode materials with single component and/or morphology (such as, particles, spheres, wires, sheets) is still limited by drawbacks such as insufficient electron-hole separation and/or light-trapping. Herein, we introduce a universal method to prepare hierarchical assembly of macroporous material-nanowire coated homogenous or heterogeneous metal oxide composite electrodes (TiO2 -TiO2 , SnO2 -TiO2 , and Zn2 SnO4 -TiO2 ; homogenous refers to a material in which the nanowire and the macroporous material have the same composition, i.e. both are TiO2 . Heterogeneous refers to a material in which the nanowires and the macroporous material have different compositions). The dye-sensitized solar cell based on a TiO2 -macroporous material-TiO2 -nanowire homogenous composition electrode shows an impressive conversion efficiency of 9.51 %, which is much higher than that of pure macroporous material-based photoelectrodes to date.

Achieving high-performance planar perovskite solar cell with Nb-doped TiO2 compact layer by enhanced electron injection and efficient charge extraction

The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of a planar perovskite solar cell (PSC) is closely associated with the conduction band energy, conductivity and coverage of the compact layer. However, as the most widely used compact layer material, TiO2 has unfavorable electrical properties such as low electron mobility and conductivity; as a result, modifications such as elemental doping are of paramount importance. In this study, Nb-doped TiO2 with improved carrier density and conductivity was prepared via a facile one-pot solution process and applied successfully as a high-quality compact layer for planar PSCs. A positive shift in the flat-band potential (Vfb) and increased conductivity after Nb doping efficiently facilitated photogenerated electron injection and charge extraction from the perovskite film to the 2% Nb-doped TiO2 compact layer, contributing to impressive advances in photovoltaic performance compared with pristine TiO2. Ultimately, a PSC assembled using optimized 2% Nb-doped TiO2 and CH3NH3PbI3 yielded a power conversion efficiency of up to 16.3%.

Macroporous SnO2 Synthesized via a Template-Assisted Reflux Process for Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Macroporous SnO2 composed of small SnO2 nanoparticles with diameters around 10 nm is prepared via a reflux process. This novel structure is designed as the photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), intending to improve the light utilization efficiency with its excellent light scattering ability. Though the dye adsorption of macroporous SnO2 (14.00 × 10(-8) mol cm(-2)) is lower than that of SnO2 nanoparticles (19.24 × 10(-8) mol cm(-2)), the photovoltaic performance of the DSSCs based on the former is 4.87% compared to 4.41% for SnO2 nanoparticles, showing over 10% increment than the latter. This improvement is mainly due to the enhanced light scattering ability and charge collection efficiency of the macroporous structure, both of which contribute to a higher short current density and hence for the better power conversion efficiency. Furthermore, a double-layer structure composed of SnO2 nanoparticles (active layer) and macroporous SnO2 (scattering layer) possess both large dye adsorption (22.82 × 10(-8) mol cm(-2)) and scattering property, thus leads to a significant overall conversion efficiency of 5.78%.