Optical modeling-assisted characterization of dye-sensitized solar cells using TiO₂ nanotube arrays as photoanodes

• Jung-Ho Yun,
• Il Ku Kim,
• Yun Hau Ng,
• Lianzhou Wang and
• Rose Amal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 895–902, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.102

• particulate films [12]. Consequently, this enhanced charge transport led to an improvement in the efficiency of light energy conversion. According to Zhu et al., as considering the charge collection efficiency between TiO2 nanoparticle-based and TNT-based DSSCs with comparable TiO2 thickness, the TNT-based

• arrays as photoelectrodes. The DSSC with 3.3 μm long TNT arrays shows a short-circuit density (Jsc) of 1.32 mA·cm−2, an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.76 V, and a fill factor (FF) of 0.65, with a solar energy conversion efficiency of 0.65%. Meanwhile, 11.5 and 20.6 μm long TNT array-based DSSCs

• enhanced solar energy conversion efficiencies of 2.7% for the 11.5 μm long TNT array-based DSSC and 3.87% for the 20.6 μm long TNT array-based DSSC. Considering the results in Figure 2 and Table 1, the improved Jsc with the increase in the lengths of TNT arrays can be attributed to a larger surface area

Visible light photooxidative performance of a high-nuclearity molecular bismuth vanadium oxide cluster

• Johannes Tucher and
• Carsten Streb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 711–716, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.83

• the cluster shell [15][16][17][18][19]. Using this approach, materials for energy conversion and storage [20][21], homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis [1][14], biomedical applications [22][23][24] and nanostructured functional materials [17][25][26] have been developed. We have recently started

Nanostructure sensitization of transition metal oxides for visible-light photocatalysis

• Hongjun Chen and
• Lianzhou Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 696–710, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.82

• Hongjun Chen Lianzhou Wang Nanomaterials Centre, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia 10.3762/bjnano.5.82 Abstract To better utilize the sunlight for efficient solar energy conversion, the research on visible-light active

• dipole–dipole interaction between the gold core and the Cu2O semiconductor shell. Plasmonic metal nanostructures have been incorporated into different transition metal oxides to enhance the solar-light harvesting and the energy-conversion efficiency for the photoelectrochemical water splitting. For

• role of a co-catalyst, which may act as electron sinks to draw them away from the holes and enhance their lifetimes [64]. Under visible light, the plasmonic nanostructures enhance the solar-light harvesting and increase the visible-light energy-conversion efficiency as photosensitizer. It is well-known

Constant chemical potential approach for quantum chemical calculations in electrocatalysis

• Wolfgang B. Schneider and
• Alexander A. Auer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 668–676, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.79

• Wolfgang B. Schneider Alexander A. Auer Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Stiftstraße 34–36, D-45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.5.79 Abstract In order to simulate electrochemical reactions in the framework of quantum chemical methods, density functional theory

Mesoporous cerium oxide nanospheres for the visible-light driven photocatalytic degradation of dyes

• Subas K. Muduli,
• Songling Wang,
• Shi Chen,
• Chin Fan Ng,
• Cheng Hon Alfred Huan,
• Tze Chien Sum and
• Han Sen Soo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 517–523, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.60

• (≈5% of the solar spectrum) [2][3][4][7][8]. Moreover, the valence band of TiO2 is strongly oxidizing whereas the conduction band level is only mildly reducing, which results in a low energy-conversion efficiency since most of the oxidation potential is wasted thermally. A number of other metal oxide

One-step synthesis of high quality kesterite Cu₂ZnSnS₄ nanocrystals – a hydrothermal approach

• Vincent Tiing Tiong,
• John Bell and
• Hongxia Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 438–446, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.51

• optimal for application in photoelectric energy conversion device. Keywords: Cu2ZnSnS4 nanocrystals; formation mechanism; hydrothermal; thioglycolic acid; Introduction The development of new semiconductor light absorbing materials for applications in photovoltaic technologies is driven by the necessity

Atomic layer deposition, a unique method for the preparation of energy conversion devices

• Julien Bachmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 245–248, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.26

• Julien Bachmann Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Egerlandstrasse 1, 91058 Erlangen, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.5.26 Keywords: atomic layer deposition; batteries; energy conversion; electrochemistry; electrolysis; fuel cells; photovoltaics; solar

• identities found in such energy conversion devices, they all share a fundamental principle: an increase of the geometric area of their interfaces should result in a commensurate increase in their throughput, until the concomitant increase in the diffusion distances of the charge carriers between the bulk and

• frameworks, is conferred with a direct relevance towards energy conversion applications. The conformal coating of non-planar samples is a property that uniquely defines atomic layer deposition (ALD) [3][4][5][6][7], which is why ALD is inherently suited to the preparation of energy conversion devices. ALD

Modeling and optimization of atomic layer deposition processes on vertically aligned carbon nanotubes

• Nuri Yazdani,
• Vipin Chawla,
• Eve Edwards,
• Vanessa Wood,
• Hyung Gyu Park and
• Ivo Utke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 234–244, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.25

• Electrical Engineering, ETH Zürich, Zürich CH-8092, Switzerland Laboratory for Mechanics of Materials and Nanostructures, EMPA, Thun CH-3602, Switzerland 10.3762/bjnano.5.25 Abstract Many energy conversion and storage devices exploit structured ceramics with large interfacial surface areas. Vertically

The role of oxygen and water on molybdenum nanoclusters for electro catalytic ammonia production

• Jakob G. Howalt and
• Tejs Vegge

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 111–120, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.11

• Jakob G. Howalt Tejs Vegge Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark Center for Atomic-scale Materials Design, Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark 10.3762/bjnano.5.11 Abstract The

Quantum size effects in TiO₂ thin films grown by atomic layer deposition

• Massimo Tallarida,
• Chittaranjan Das and
• Dieter Schmeisser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 77–82, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.7

• influenced by quantum size effects. The modified electronic properties may play an important role in charge carrier transport and separation, and increase the efficiency of energy conversion systems. Keywords: atomic layer deposition (ALD); charge transfer multiplet; covalency; energy conversion; quantum

• purity [4]. The growth of TiO2 by ALD is a well-studied process and has been recently reviewed [5]. Charge carrier transport and separation, which strongly depend on interface and surface properties [6][7], are among the most important aspects of energy conversion processes. Therefore the further

• have shown a detailed characterization of TiO2 ALD films with thickness increasing from 0.75 nm to 3 nm by using XAS at both the Ti-L2,3 and O-K edges. The use of ALD films permits to have reproducible films with well-defined thickness, and allows a comparison with energy conversion systems, in which

Design criteria for stable Pt/C fuel cell catalysts

• Josef C. Meier,
• Carolina Galeano,
• Ioannis Katsounaros,
• Jonathon Witte,
• Hans J. Bongard,
• Angel A. Topalov,
• Claudio Baldizzone,
• Stefano Mezzavilla,
• Ferdi Schüth and
• Karl J. J. Mayrhofer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 44–67, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.5

• hydrogen-fueled proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is a promising technology for energy conversion especially for local or portable applications [1]. PEMFC convert chemical energy stored in hydrogen into electrical energy in an electrochemical process that requires efficient catalysts for both the

Ellipsometry and XPS comparative studies of thermal and plasma enhanced atomic layer deposited Al₂O₃-films

• Jörg Haeberle,
• Karsten Henkel,
• Hassan Gargouri,
• Franziska Naumann,
• Bernd Gruska,
• Michael Arens,
• Massimo Tallarida and
• Dieter Schmeißer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 732–742, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.83

• solar energy conversion systems like dye sensitized solar cells [11][12] and water splitting devices [13] or lithium ion batteries [14]. Here, in particular the excellent conformability of ALD growth over high surface area materials and its uniformity and self-termination [15] were beneficially applied

A nano-graphite cold cathode for an energy-efficient cathodoluminescent light source

• Alexander N. Obraztsov,
• Victor I. Kleshch and
• Elena A. Smolnikova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 493–500, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.58

• as ineffective. The other 95% of the energy are transformed into heat, which cannot be considered as waste in many countries where electricity is used for house heating practically every day. In the “energy efficient” fluorescent and LED lamps the energy conversion ratio is about 10%, so that there

Synthesis and thermoelectric properties of Re₃As_6.6In_0.4 with Ir₃Ge₇ crystal structure

• Valeriy Y. Verchenko,
• Anton S. Vasiliev,
• Alexander A. Tsirlin,
• Vladimir A. Kulbachinskii,
• Vladimir G. Kytin and
• Andrei V. Shevelkov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 446–452, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.52

• . Keywords: band-structure calculations; energy conversion; Ir3Ge7 type; solid solution; thermoelectric material; Introduction Thermoelectric materials with good efficiency are highly awaited by modern power engineering. Utilizing either the Seebeck or Peltier effects, it is possible to produce electricity

Near-field effects and energy transfer in hybrid metal-oxide nanostructures

• Ulrich Herr,
• Balati Kuerbanjiang,
• Cahit Benel,
• Giorgos Papageorgiou,
• Manuel Goncalves,
• Johannes Boneberg,
• Paul Leiderer,
• Paul Ziemann,
• Peter Marek and
• Horst Hahn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 306–317, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.34

• the problem of supplying sufficient energy to present and future generations lies in techniques for using renewable energies, such as wind, water and direct sunlight. Direct conversion of sunlight by photovoltaics is an extremely attractive method of energy conversion, since the “final product” is

• [1]. Nanotechnology holds great promises for the development of new devices in the field of advanced energy conversion. This became very apparent with the development of the dye-sensitized solar cells by M. Grätzel [2] more than 20 years ago. Other than conventional semiconductor photovoltaic cells

• examples given, it is clear that the realization of nanotechnology-based approaches to efficient solar-energy conversion depends on a thorough understanding of the individual steps of the energy-transfer processes involved. As already mentioned, these include the absorption process itself, which may be

Reduced electron recombination of dye-sensitized solar cells based on TiO₂ spheres consisting of ultrathin nanosheets with [001] facet exposed

• Hongxia Wang,
• Meinan Liu,
• Cheng Yan and
• John Bell

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 378–387, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.44

• [001] facet exposed, were assembled and characterized in terms of the device performance, the kinetics of electron transport and back reaction. It was found that the TiO2-spheres-based DSCs generated an energy conversion efficiency of 7.57%, which is comparable to the conventional TiO2 nanoparticles

Structural, electronic and photovoltaic characterization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes grown directly on stainless steel

• Luca Camilli,
• Manuela Scarselli,
• Silvano Del Gobbo,
• Paola Castrucci,
• Eric Gautron and
• Maurizio De Crescenzi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 360–367, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.42

• ability of MWCNTs to serve as an energy-conversion material [9][10]. In this paper, we build up a simple photovoltaic device based on MWCNT–Si Schottky heterojunction. Photovoltaic measurements for the in-plane and top-down geometries of the device were performed. In particular, we find that the top-down

Nanophotonics, nano-optics and nanospectroscopy

• Alfred J. Meixner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 499–500, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.53

• applications can be imagined, e.g., in materials sciences in the pursuit of efficient photovoltaic energy conversion; in the engineering sciences as quantum devices functioning as switches that truly operate at the quantum limit with single photons; or in the life sciences as local optical sensors to observe

Plasmonic nanostructures fabricated using nanosphere-lithography, soft-lithography and plasma etching

• Manuel R. Gonçalves,
• Taron Makaryan,
• Fabian Enderle,
• Stefan Wiedemann,
• Alfred Plettl,
• Othmar Marti and
• Paul Ziemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 448–458, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.49

• also enhance scattering at their resonances. This effect has been exploited in solar cells, for example, enhanced scattering by arrays of silver nanoparticles permits a thickness reduction of Si solar cells without compromising the intrinsic energy conversion efficiency [44][45][46]. Applications of