Performance of colloidal CdS sensitized solar cells with ZnO nanorods/nanoparticles

• Anurag Roy,
• Partha Pratim Das,
• Mukta Tathavadekar,
• Sumita Das and
• Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 210–221, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.23

• performance after sensitization with colloidal CdS. In addition, by using 1D ZnO nanorods as a scattering layer, improved photovoltaic activity of ZnO upon sensitization with colloidal CdS could be achieved [32][33]. Experimental Materials The raw material used for the synthesis of Cd(NO3)2, 3H2O, Na2S·7H2O

• reflectance spectra were measured on a UV–vis–NIR spectrometer (Shimadzu, UV-3600) on the considered films. Contact angle (CA) measurements were performed on a KRUSS Drop Shape Analyser, Germany (DSA-4). The photovoltaic J–V characteristics were measured using a solar simulator (Newport) at 100 mW/cm2 (1 sun

• AM 1.5). A standard silicon solar cell (serial number 189/PVM351) from Newport, U.S. was used as a reference cell. The active area of the fabricated cells used for photovoltaic measurement was 0.25 cm2. Further, the I–V characteristics under normal light on CdS-sensitized ZnO films were measured

Influence of hydrofluoric acid treatment on electroless deposition of Au clusters

• Rachela G. Milazzo,
• Antonio M. Mio,
• Giuseppe D’Arrigo,
• Emanuele Smecca,
• Alessandra Alberti,
• Gabriele Fisichella,
• Filippo Giannazzo,
• Corrado Spinella and
• Emanuele Rimini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 183–189, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.19

• nanoparticle arrays and to improve the conversion efficiency of hybrid photovoltaic devices. Keywords: electroless deposition; galvanic deposition; gold nanoparticles; HF acid treatment; HF-propelled motion; hydrogen termination; silicon surfaces; Introduction Gold nanoparticles on silicon substrates have

Tandem polymer solar cells: simulation and optimization through a multiscale scheme

• Fanan Wei,
• Ligang Yao,
• Fei Lan,
• Guangyong Li and
• Lianqing Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 123–133, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.13

• an example. Two configurations with different sub-cell sequences in the tandem photovoltaic device were tested and compared. The comparison of the simulation results between the two configurations demonstrated that the balance between the two sub-cells is of critical importance for tandem organic

• through both simplex algorithm and GA. The optimized tandem device parameters were in agreement with those reported in fabricated devices. This work not only provides promising guidance for tandem polymer solar cell fabrication, but also sheds light on the fundamental principles of tandem photovoltaic

Ordering of Zn-centered porphyrin and phthalocyanine on TiO₂(011): STM studies

• Piotr Olszowski,
• Lukasz Zajac,
• Szymon Godlewski,
• Bartosz Such,
• Rémy Pawlak,
• Antoine Hinaut,
• Res Jöhr,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Ernst Meyer and
• Marek Szymonski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 99–107, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.11

• device functionality. It was reported that a mixture of porphyrins and phthalocyanine has a profound impact on the photovoltaic parameters of dye-sensitized solar cells [9][10]. Therefore, the microscopic investigation on such systems is crucial. One of the most popular nonmetal substrates used for

Scanning probe microscopy studies on the adsorption of selected molecular dyes on titania

• Jakub S. Prauzner-Bechcicki,
• Lukasz Zajac,
• Piotr Olszowski,
• Res Jöhr,
• Antoine Hinaut,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Bartosz Such,
• Ernst Meyer and
• Marek Szymonski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1642–1653, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.156

• , Jagiellonian University, Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348 Krakow, Poland Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstr. 82, 4056 Basel, Switzerland 10.3762/bjnano.7.156 Abstract Titanium dioxide, or titania, sensitized with organic dyes is a very attractive platform for photovoltaic applications. In this

• dianhydride (PTCDA); phtalocyanines; porphyrins; rutile; scanning probe microscopy; scanning tunneling microscopy (STM); titanium dioxide (TiO2); Introduction Today it comes as no surprise that photovoltaic devices can be made of materials other than silicon. Nanocrystalline materials accompanied by organic

• molecules or conducting polymers offer several advantages, e.g., they are relatively cheap to fabricate and can be used on flexible substrates [1]. The use of organic sensitizers allows even wide-band-gap semiconductors to be used in photovoltaic applications. Semiconductors with large band gaps offer

Nanostructured germanium deposited on heated substrates with enhanced photoelectric properties

• Ionel Stavarache,
• Valentin Adrian Maraloiu,
• Petronela Prepelita and
• Gheorghe Iordache

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1492–1500, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.142

• into a dielectric matrix of stoichiometric SiO2. This determines the dark current level (which should be as small as possible) whereas Ge:SiOx layers with small oxygen deficit (x < 2) represent the favorable components for photovoltaic applications, according to the analysis conducted by A. Nyrow and

• bias respectively; b) spectral detectivity for Al/n-Si/Ge:SiO2/ITO structures obtained at different temperatures. Photovoltaic response speed of the photodetector structure (fabricated at 400 °C) under pulsed (Pin = 7.6 mW) NIR light (808.5 nm laser): (a) with frequency of 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz

The effect of dry shear aligning of nanotube thin films on the photovoltaic performance of carbon nanotube–silicon solar cells

• Benedikt W. Stolz,
• Daniel D. Tune and
• Benjamin S. Flavel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1486–1491, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.141

• photovoltaic performance of devices produced with and without dry shear aligning is compared. Keywords: absorbance; carbon nanotubes; current-voltage; dry shear aligning; order parameter; Introduction During the last decade or so, the potential benefits of using carbon nanotubes in solar cells has been

• ε0 have their usual meaning. The as-prepared films and those aligned by DSA were deposited on silicon substrates patterned with electrodes, and the photovoltaic performance was measured, with the results summarised in Figure 3 (and with the full J–V curves shown in Supporting Information File 1

• surface of the films using the newly developed technique of dry shear aligning. Whilst the DSA process produced films that were two orders of magnitude flatter and exhibited a 2D order parameter of up to 0.3, both of which have been previously observed to improve the photovoltaic performance of carbon

Fracture behaviors of pre-cracked monolayer molybdenum disulfide: A molecular dynamics study

• Qi-lin Xiong,
• Zhen-huan Li and
• Xiao-geng Tian

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1411–1420, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.132

• with pre-existing cracks is of great significance in engineering application. Metal dichalcogenides such as MoS2 and WS2 are well known for their interesting catalytic, photovoltaic, and lubricant properties [2][3][4] making them of interest for a variety of potential applications including scanning

Manufacturing and investigation of physical properties of polyacrylonitrile nanofibre composites with SiO₂, TiO₂ and Bi₂O₃ nanoparticles

• Tomasz Tański,
• Wiktor Matysiak and
• Barbara Hajduk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1141–1155, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.106

• their electrical, optical and photovoltaic properties. The properties of these oxides contribute to the fact that the materials obtained with their participation are successfully used for the construction of organic thin-layer transistors (OTFTs) [18], Schottky diodes [19] or sensors [20]. Currently

• such obtained carbon fibre. As it was demonstrated by Chureerat Prahsarn and collaborators [34], the polymer nanofibres of PAN are a very good medium for TiO2 nanoparticles with photovoltaic properties, providing the particles with stable embedding, while preserving the large contact area of the

Photocurrent generation in carbon nanotube/cubic-phase HfO₂ nanoparticle hybrid nanocomposites

• Protima Rauwel,
• Augustinas Galeckas,
• Martin Salumaa,
• Frédérique Ducroquet and
• Erwan Rauwel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1075–1085, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.101

• conduction through the metallic MWCNTs [64]. Under zero bias a photocurrent is generated, indicating that the MWCNT:HfO2 nanocomposite acts as a photovoltaic cell. The on/off cycle measurements show a square and well-defined photoresponse after turn-on and turn-off illumination (Figure 5b). After turn-on

Large-scale fabrication of achiral plasmonic metamaterials with giant chiroptical response

• Morten Slyngborg,
• Yao-Chung Tsao and
• Peter Fojan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 914–925, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.83

• implementations in various fields such as optics [1], improved photovoltaic devices [2], electronics [3], surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy [4], Raman spectroscopy [5] and biosensors [6]. Planar chiral metamaterials (PCMs) have also attracted attention because of their negative refractive index [7][8] and

High-resolution noncontact AFM and Kelvin probe force microscopy investigations of self-assembled photovoltaic donor–acceptor dyads

• Benjamin Grévin,
• Pierre-Olivier Schwartz,
• Laure Biniek,
• Martin Brinkmann,
• Nicolas Leclerc,
• Elena Zaborova and
• Stéphane Méry

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 799–808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.71

• power conversion efficiency records of over 10% [1][2], solution-processed organic solar cells are regarded as a promising alternative to conventional silicon-based photovoltaic devices. Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells rely on blends of electron-donor (D) and electron-acceptor (A

• may to some extend be related to structural defects evidenced by TEM in the bulk of the films such as cross-hatched layers. SPV imaging reveals that structural defects in A–D co-oligomers affect the carrier photo-transport, and hence, the global photovoltaic properties of corresponding devices. Lastly

• , SPV contrasts were resolved at the scale of single edge-on lamellae, which is an important step towards local investigations of photovoltaic self-assembled donor–acceptor heterojunctions at the submolecular scale. Molecular structures of the investigated A–Dn co-oligomers (in this study n = 1 or n = 3

Rigid multipodal platforms for metal surfaces

• Michal Valášek,
• Marcin Lindner and
• Marcel Mayor

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 374–405, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.34

• derivatives bearing a tripodal rigid anchor 29 (Figure 12), allowing such molecules to form a stable and well-defined arrangement of molecules on the metal surfaces for the further construction of highly efficient molecular photovoltaic devices. They corroborated significant influence of the rigid tripodal

Molecular machines operating on the nanoscale: from classical to quantum

• Igor Goychuk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 328–350, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.31

• loading force and do useful work against it. It ceases at a critical stalling force. This has important implications. For example, in application to the photovoltaic effect in crystals with broken space-inversion symmetry [36] this means that two opposite surfaces of crystal (orthogonal to current flow

Determination of Young’s modulus of Sb₂S₃ nanowires by in situ resonance and bending methods

• Liga Jasulaneca,
• Raimonds Meija,
• Alexander I. Livshits,
• Juris Prikulis,
• Subhajit Biswas,
• Justin D. Holmes and
• Donats Erts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 278–283, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.25

• photosensitivity [3], its large absorption coefficient [4][5] and direct band gap in the visible and near infrared range (1.78–2.5 eV) [6][7][8]. Owing to these properties, Sb2S3 has also been considered as an attractive material for microwave frequency [9], optical recording [10] and photovoltaic [2][11

Synthesis and applications of carbon nanomaterials for energy generation and storage

• Marco Notarianni,
• Jinzhang Liu,
• Kristy Vernon and
• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 149–196, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.17

• government to install photovoltaic systems on private property could be a viable solution to immediately benefit from the energy produced without the construction of additional infrastructure and without transportation losses. However, this could definitely create a sort of energy independence that is not

Dependence of lattice strain relaxation, absorbance, and sheet resistance on thickness in textured ZnO@B transparent conductive oxide for thin-film solar cell applications

• Kuang-Yang Kou,
• Yu-En Huang,
• Chien-Hsun Chen and
• Shih-Wei Feng

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 75–80, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.9

• microcrystallites has a strong green emission due to defect states in the core [11]. A blue-shifted absorption edge and photoluminescence caused by quantum confinement as well as a higher photovoltaic and sensor performance due to a larger surface area have been demonstrated in ZnO nanocrystals [14][15][16]. In

Self-organization of gold nanoparticles on silanated surfaces

• Htet H. Kyaw,
• Salim H. Al-Harthi,
• Azzouz Sellai and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2345–2353, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.242

• structures [8]. AuNPs have been studied intensively for a wide range of applications such as catalysis [9], biosensing [10], colorimetric sensing [11], optical sensing (surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)) [12][13], photonics [13][14], photovoltaic devices [15] and

Nanostructures for sensors, electronics, energy and environment II

• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1937–1938, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.197

• greenhouse gases that pollute the environment. Photovoltaic technology is a potentially viable solution to produce clean energy; however, its production costs are still too high due to the materials and process techniques involved. Moreover, because the sun is an intermittent energy source, the further

• development of energy storage systems is necessary in order to allow photovoltaic-based power generation to be independent from the grid. Carbon, one of the most abundant materials found on earth, is the key atomic species in the compounds responsible for greenhouse gas emission and pollution. However, it can

Electrospray deposition of organic molecules on bulk insulator surfaces

• Antoine Hinaut,
• Rémy Pawlak,
• Ernst Meyer and
• Thilo Glatzel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1927–1934, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.195

• hybrid-photovoltaic [1] or molecular electronics [2]. Information at the single molecular level, even if challenging, is required to foresee the interplay between nanoscale structures and geometries and the device properties. For reliable investigations of such systems, a well defined environment is

Current–voltage characteristics of manganite–titanite perovskite junctions

• Benedikt Ifland,
• Patrick Peretzki,
• Birte Kressdorf,
• Philipp Saring,
• Andreas Kelling,
• Michael Seibt and
• Christian Jooss

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1467–1484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.152

• electron–polaron hole–polaron pair generation and separation at the interface. Keywords: current–voltage characteristics; perovskites; photovoltaics; polarons; Introduction At present, photovoltaic devices are mainly based on high purity elemental or compound inorganic semiconducting materials with large

• is relatively small, the mobility is large and the diffusion length of excited electron–hole pairs can be in the 100 µm range for indirect semiconductors [1]. The examination of photovoltaic materials with properties deviating from conventional solar cells can lead to new strategies for a wide

• evaluation for photovoltaic systems reveal vastly different properties ranging from narrow band gap manganite oxides perovskites with hopping transport to broad band gap lead halide perovskites [9][12][13][14]. For the lead halide perovskites the constituents are: A = CH3NH3+, B = Pb, and X = I, Br, Cl

Using natural language processing techniques to inform research on nanotechnology

• Nastassja A. Lewinski and
• Bridget T. McInnes

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1439–1449, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.149

• ][27]. More recently, the research group expanded the scope to include applications of carbon nanotubes such as incorporation in photovoltaic cells and prostate cancer therapeutics [28]. The patents, which spanned the years 1992 to 2009, were collected from E.U., Japan, Korea and U.S. patent databases

Enhanced fullerene–Au(111) coupling in (2√3 × 2√3)R30° superstructures with intermolecular interactions

• Michael Paßens,
• Rainer Waser and
• Silvia Karthäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1421–1431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.147

• extensively studied self-assembled systems due to their rich structural and electronic properties [1]. A considerable interest in C60 films arises from their use in photovoltaic cells [2][3] and potential applications in molecular electronics [4]. Likewise, C60 molecules can be used as chemical anchoring

Electronic interaction in composites of a conjugated polymer and carbon nanotubes: first-principles calculation and photophysical approaches

• Florian Massuyeau,
• Jany Wéry,
• Jean-Luc Duvail,
• Serge Lefrant,
• Abu Yaya,
• Chris Ewels and
• Eric Faulques

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1138–1144, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.115

• emitting diodes and photovoltaic cells [1][2]. Tuning the optical and conductive properties of ECPs is possible either by tailoring the polymer backbone with chemical side groups [3] or by preparing composites with nanoparticles [4][5][6][7]. ECP hybrids containing carbon nanotubes, fullerene-based

Experimental determination of the light-trapping-induced absorption enhancement factor in DSSC photoanodes

• Serena Gagliardi and
• Mauro Falconieri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 886–892, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.91

• optical functionality of novel photoanode structures. Keywords: dye-sensitized solar cells; light trapping; optical characterization; photoanode modeling; titania nanostructures; Introduction The exploitation of solar irradiation, in particular by the use of photovoltaic (PV) technologies, is a widely

• and simple manufacturing techniques ensures low-cost production and makes DSSCs a promising class of photovoltaic cells, even though the demonstrated efficiency on the laboratory scale is still well below the performance of more mature photovoltaic technologies. Much effort is devoted to the

• improvement of the conversion efficiency while maintaining low cost and extending the device lifetime. One of the key factors for efficient photovoltaic conversion is related to the optical properties of the photoactive material. The knowledge of the optical functionality can therefore aid in the optimization