Yongjian Jiang

Highly transparent and efficient counter electrode using SiO2/PEDOT-PSS composite for bifacial dye-sensitized solar cells.

A highly transparent and efficient counter electrode was facilely fabricated using SiO2/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT-PSS) inorganic/organic composite and used in bifacial dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The optical properties of SiO2/PEDOT-PSS electrode can be tailored by the blending amount of SiO2 and film thickness, and the incorporation of SiO2 in PEDOT-PSS provides better transmission in the long wavelength range. Meanwhile, the SiO2/PEDOT-PSS counter electrode shows a better electrochemical catalytic activity than PEDOT-PSS electrode for triiodide reduction, and the role of SiO2 in the catalytic process is investigated. The bifacial DSC with SiO2/PEDOT-PSS counter electrode achieves a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.61% under rear-side irradiation, which is about 83% of that obtained under front-side irradiation. Furthermore, the PCE of bifacial DSC can be significantly increased by adding a reflector to achieve bifacial irradiation, which is 39% higher than that under conventional front-side irradiation.

Hydrothermal Synthesis of Anatase TiO2 Nanoflowers on a Nanobelt Framework for Photocatalytic Applications

Anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoflowers were fabricated on rutile TiO2 nanobelts through a simple hydrothermal synthesis. The architecture of the composite nanostructures was composed of a rutile nanobelt framework with anatase nanoflowers. The novel TiO2 composite nanostructures exhibit higher photocatalytic activity for organic pollutants relative to TiO2 nanobelts and commercially available nanoparticles (P25). This enhanced photocatalytic activity is primarily a result of complex crystal nanostructures that enhance the carrier transport along the nanobelt framework. The results indicate that this novel TiO2 nanostructure has superior photocatalytic properties, which demonstrates its potential as a new photocatalyst material.

Electrodeposition of Ag nanosheet-assembled microsphere@Ag dendrite core–shell hierarchical architectures and their application in SERS

Ag core–shell hierarchical microstructures, with nanosheet-assembled microspheres as the core and dendrites coated on the surface, have been synthesized by electrodeposition. The growth mechanisms of these Ag microstructures have been systematically investigated through time-dependent morphological evolution. A transformation stage from the microspheres to the dendrites was found in the morphological evolution of Ag core–shell hierarchical microstructures, which was affected by the deposition time and voltage. Therefore, we obtained various Ag core–shell hierarchical microstructures, with adjustable ratios of the microsphere cores to the dendrite shells, by controlling the deposition voltage. Furthermore, the Ag core–shell hierarchical microstructures exhibit excellent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) ability, showing great potential as effective SERS substrates.

SILICON NANOPARTICLES/PEDOT–PSS NANOCOMPOSITE AS AN EFFICIENT COUNTER ELECTRODE FOR DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS

A novel inorganic/organic nanocomposite film composed of Si nanoparticles (NPs) and poly-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT–PSS) is obtained from a simple mechanical mixture of Si NPs powder and aqueous PEDOT–PSS solution. Employing this composite film as a counter electrode, dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) exhibits an efficiency of 5.7% and a fill factor of 0.51, which are much higher than these of DSSC using pristine PEDOT–PSS electrode (2.9% and 0.25, respectively). The improvements in the photovoltaic performance of the former are primarily derived from improved electrocatalytic performance of the electrode, as evidenced by electrochemical measurements, the composite electrode has lower impedance and higher electrocatalytic activity when in comparison with pristine PEDOT–PSS electrode. These improvements are primarily deriving from the increased electrochemical surface by the addition of Si NPs. The characteristics of Si NPs/PEDOT–PSS composite counter electrode reveal its potential for the use of low-cost and stable Pt-free counter electrode materials. In addition, the results achieved in this work also provide a facile and efficient approach to improve the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs using PEDOT–PSS electrodes.

Synthetized of Ag-doped TiO 2 nanostructures by silver mirror reaction and their photocatalytic activity

The nanocomposite materials such as Ag/ TiO2 nanobelts and Ag/ TiO2 nanoflowers are synthesized and their photocatalytic properties are studied. With the simple hydrothermal synthesis, TiO2 nanobelts and nanoflowers are fabricated from commercial nanoparticles, followed by deposition of Ag nanoparticles through the silver mirror reaction process. According to the photocatalytic measurments, Ag/ TiO2 composite nanostructures are proved to have a better photocatalytic activity than that of nanostructures without silver doping, i.e. TiO2 nanobelt, and nanoflower structures.

Fabrication of acid-controllable TiO 2 microstructures: Morphology and photocatalytic activity analysis

A series of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructures with different microstructures were synthesized through hydrothermal synthesis. By controlling the ratio of hydrochloric acid in the reactants, which in turn varying hydrolyzing tetrabutyl titanate (Ti(OBu)4) rates, the structures with shapes of nanosheets, nanorods, nanoflowers and nanoclusters were obtained, and the feature of these microstructures was depicted in details through scanning electron microscope(SEM). The formation processes and mechanisms for the different nanostructures were analyzed and discussed. The photocatalytic properties were also researched, which showed that different microstructures had disparate photocatalytic properties.