Synthesis of ultra-long hierarchical ZnO whiskers in a hydrothermal system for dye-sensitised solar cells
Date
2016
Authors
Gao, G.
Yu, L.
Vinu, A.
Shapter, J.
Batmunkh, M.
Shearer, C.
Yin, T.
Huang, P.
Cui, D.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
RSC Advances, 2016; 6(111):109406-109413
Statement of Responsibility
Guo Gao, Leping Yu, Ajayan Vinu, Joseph G. Shapter, Munkhbayar Batmunkh, Cameron J. Shearer, Ting Yin, Peng Huang and Daxiang Cui
Conference Name
Abstract
One-dimensional (1-D) ZnO structures are of great interest for many applications but the direct hydrothermal synthesis of ultra-long ZnO whiskers (>100 μm) remains a great challenge. Herein, we demonstrate the first synthesis of three kinds of ultra-long hierarchical ZnO whiskers, which are defined as ZnO-2 (>100 μm in length), ZnO-3 (>200 μm in length with relatively smooth surface) and ZnO-4 (>200 μm in length with relatively rough surface), via a one-pot hydrothermal process. The maximum length of hierarchical ZnO-4 whiskers can reach up to about 270 μm. The formation of oval-shaped quasi-hollow structural precursors plays a key role for the correct attachment of Zn²⁺-terminated and O²⁻-terminated active surfaces, producing well-ordered Zn²⁺⋯O²⋯Zn²⁺ bonds, and finally promoting the formation of ultra-long ZnO whiskers with hierarchical structures. When the synthesized ultra-long hierarchical ZnO-4 whiskers are mixed with commercial TiO₂for dye-sensitised solar cells (DSCs), the current density increases significantly from 13.68 mA cm⁻² (commercial TiO₂) to 16.81 mA cm⁻²(TiO₂–ZnO hybrid materials). The hybrid materials show a conversion efficiency of 7.95% which is higher as compared to that of commercial TiO₂ (5.87%). This interesting performance of a hybrid material sheds light on the possibility of preparing ultra-long hierarchical ZnO whiskers (>100 μm) with tunable lengths through hydrothermal approaches and their application in DSCs.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Accepted 7th November 2016
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This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016