Sharif Digital Repository

In recent years, thin-film photovoltaic cells with thicknesses of less than 1-2 µm have been developed with potentially lower production costs. Due to the small thickness of the absorbing semiconductor in these cells, the absorption is inevitably low at energies close to the electronic band gap of the semiconductor. This is particularly a problem for thin-film devices. Recently، periodic metallic nanostructures supporting surface plasmons have been introduced as alternative solutions to achieve light trapping in thin-film solar cells.Full numerical methods are usually used for the analysis of these periodic structures. The main drawback of these methods is that they are time-consuming and... 

Power harvesters are used to generate energy for electronic devices. These electrical energy generators consist of three main parts: energy source, power electronic converter and energy storage. In order to minimize some of the weaknesses of these devices, including low power density and low reliability, the hybrid power harvesting method can be utilized. In this thesis, we design and build a hybrid energy harvester considering the advantages of simultaneous usage of solar and thermal energies for a wearable sensor, focusing on "efficiency enhancement" and "availability improvement". In the designed device, both solar and thermal energy harvesting units operate independently. In the solar... 

In this research we focus on study and fabrication of one dimentianal TiO2 nanostructures and nanoheterostructures on TiO2 nanofibers in order to use them in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSC). Nanofibers of titanium oxide have been fabricated using hydrothermal method. Then, hierarchical TiO2 nanostructures were grown on the nanofibers via another hydrothermal step. Increasing the effective surface of nanofibers, we achieved two secondary architectures from fibers:1-Nanoparticular fibers (TiO2 nanoparticles grown on nanofibers).2-Nanostars.After fabrication, the SEM and XRD characterizations were provided. Furthermore, the suitable pastes of these nanostructures were prepared for application... 

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are emerging as low-cost alternatives to conventional, solid-state, silicon solar cells. A porous network of a nanosize semiconductor material with a wide band-gaps usually TiO2, serves as charge transport medium. A monolayer of dye is chemically adsorbed on this material. Photoexcitation of dye causes injection of electrons into the conduction band of TiO2 from where they diffuse towards a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) substrate. The dye is regenerated through receiving electrons from a redox couple dissolved in the electrolyte. After passing through a desired load, the electrons enter the cell through a counter electrode to reduce the redox ions and... 

By the use of flexible substrates like metal foils and meshes and plastic ones, fabrication of flexible dye sensitized solar cells are possible. Flexible dye sensitized solar cell, not only is utilized in portable, light electronic devices, but is also conductive to industrial roll to roll fabrication which enables the implementation of high throughput production lines and its associated potential reduction in manufacturing costs. This thesis has concentrated on fabrication of flexible dye sensitized solar cells by use of stainless steel mesh as substrate of photo-anode, because of its satisfying stability in electrolyte, flexibility, transparency and low cost. In this research, an efficient... 

This thesis deals with a theoretical and experimental investigation of different approaches for reduction of electronic recombination in the semiconductor/Dye interface of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) including dye coverage, core-shell structures and energy level distributions. Interface of ZnO/TiO2 in the core-shell structure have been studied by density functional theory and the energy level distribution of surface atoms, recombination and Fermi level changes, open circuit voltage and surface dipole distributions have been discussed.
The presence of TiO2 shell increases the ZnO surface dipole moment, and shifts the ZnO conduction and valence bands to higher energies. Also, it... 

In this thesis, pure –known as T- and chromium doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles –known as -CTx- with different dopant atomic ratio (0.1 to 5 %at.) were synthesized using a facile, fast and efficient method. FESEM and XRD studies showed no morphologic and structural change via Cr doping of nanoparticles (size in the range of 20-30 nm). However, according to DRS analysis, Cr intrusion in TiO2 crystal structure, drastically reduced band gap energy of pure TiO2 from 3.14 eV to 1.81 eV for CT3 powder and improved absorption range of UV-Vis spectrum. Mott-Schottky plots indicated that, Cr doping, caused reduction in donor density of TiO2 and an upward shift in the conduction band edge.... 

A new strategy for enhancing the efficiency of TiO2 dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) doped with Ni ions with different molar percentages (i.e., 0, 0.5, 1, 5 and 10 mol%) was reported. The samples were prepared by sol-gel route and characterized by means of XRD, DRS, UV-visible, FESEM and photovoltaic measurment techniques. It was found that Ni-doped TiO2 nanoparticles had a mixture of anatase, rutile and brookite crystal structures. Moreover, the band gap energy was decreased with increasing Ni molar ratio, The highest cell efficiency of 5.4% was achieved for 1mol% Ni-doped TiO2, being 42% greater than that of pure TiO2 nanoparticles  

By using Mie theory and experimental data for complex refractive index of Au and Ag nanoparticles, the scattering and absorption efficiency of these nanoparticles in silicon medium (crystalline, Polycrystalline and amorphous silicon) was investigated. It was shown that Ag and Au nanoparticles can be used for confine the light, in desired wavelength band, inside the solar cell.The optimum nanoparticle size for using in this kind of solar cells was about 70-80 nm. In amorphous silicon confined photons cannot participate in electron-hole generation so the application of these metal nanoparticles in this kind of solar cells cannot be useful. Also the complex refractive index for equivalent... 

Organometal lead halides due to their interesting optical properties and convenient synthesis processing have attracted many attention recently. In this project, fabrication of lead halide perovskite solar cells through one-step deposition and two-step deposition with different holding time of PbI2 layers in various concentration of CH3NH3I solution as a second precursor within the ambient and glove box atmosphere has been studied. Structural, microscopic and photovoltaic properties of fabricated solar cells were evaluated. Moreover effect of delay time during PbI2 deposition on TiO2 mesoporous layer in performance of perovskite solar cell using Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy was studied.... 

In the present study, TiO2-reduced graphene oxide (T-RGO) nanocomposites were synthesized via various in-situ and ex-situ methods, then their photovoltaic performance was examined as photoanode and mesoporous layers in dye-sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) and perovskite Solar Cells (PSCs), respectively. Graphene oxide (GO) was prepared using Hummer’s method with some modifications. Both thermal and hydrothermal processes were used to reduce GO. Structural and optical characterization was analytically demonstrated by subjecting of the obtained materials by several techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA),... 

Thin film solar cells have low efficiency compared to crystalline silicon solar cells; however, they are low-cost and flexible. In manufacturing these solar cells, thin films are deposited at high temperatures (higher than 200℃) on a thick metal, plastic, or glass substrate using sputtering and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) methods. Since the thin films and substrate have different thermal expansion coefficients, cooling the system from deposition temperature to room temperature induces thermal residual stresses in both the films and substrate. In addition, these stresses, especially those induced in the amorphous silicon layer can change the carrier mobility and band gap... 

In recent years, much attention has been focused on quantum dot films due to their high amount of surface area and their size-dependant band-gap tenability. However, high surface area results in increase in energy traps in case of insufficient surface passivation. In this research, PbS colloidal quantum dots were synthesized via hot injection route having the size of 3 nm approximately. Then cationic doping with Zn, Ca and Cd and ligand exchange of long oleic acid with short organic mercaptopionic acid were done. Excitonic peak of these dots and photoluminescence peak appeard in wavelengths of 930 and 1100 nm respectively. Optimum film thickness was also determined as 300 nm. Quantum dot... 

This study presents a facile sol-gel template-assisted route to prepare CNT-TiO2 hybrid structures (CTH) for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications. Non-covalent functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with average diameter of 80 nm are used as the template for TiO2 deposition. The X-ray diffraction reveals that the hybrid structures are composed of primary anatase TiO2 nanoparticles with the average crystallite size of 12 nm, after heat treatment at 450°C in air atmosphere. TEM and FESEM images show that the shell thickness of the coated TiO2 on CNTs’ outmost walls varies between 60 to 120 nm, when the ratio of CNTs:TiO2 is 10wt. %. Photovoltaic measurements demonstrate... 

Different types of morphologies and phase structures of crystalline TiO2 were synthesized by hydrothermal methods. For the first time, dandelion-like rutile TiO2 powder composed of numerous single crystalline nanorods was synthesized using TiCl4 as the main precursor. TiO2 Nanoparticles were produced using TTIP and 2-propanol, as precursor and solvent, respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscopy analyses revealed that the synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles had average crystallite size in the range 21–70 nm, whereas dandelion-like TiO2 showed diameter in the range 2-10 µm. According to the significant refractive index of TiO2, in particular rutile phase, it can be used in the... 

In this project, The cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were formed on a nanostructured and meso-porous titanium dioxide layer and its properties were characterized. Deposition process of titanium dioxide and cadmium sulfide has been performed respectively in one stage and two stages of dipcoating. In order to probing effects of temperature and dipcoating time, samples have been prepared in various times and temperatures. Also, some of the samples have been annealed. Thickness of titanium dioxide and cadmium sulfide coatings were approximately measured 1 μm and between 3-5 μm, respectively. As expected, XRD results disclosed that cadmium sulfide and titanium dioxide were formed in the form of... 

Counter electrode of dye sensitized solar cell is prepared by deposition of a thin catalytic layer onto a conducting substrate and is responsible for reduction of iodide/triiodide redox electrolyte. Conventionally, counter electrode is made of platinum.
Depending on the method of deposition, the thickness of Pt layer varies. The Pt layer may be so thick that it acts as reflector and returns the incident light back to the cell. In this case, large amount of Pt is used and a rise in cost is been made, but only the Pt particles in the interface of counter electrode/electrolyte take part in the reduction reaction.
The aim of this project is optimization of making a counter electrode,... 

Solar cells, as a part of photovoltaics (PV) industry, have a significant share in the renewable energy market. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and thin film solar cells (TFSCs) achieved 23% and 22% power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) respectively. However, the PV industry still faces challenges like “high manufacturing costs” and “stability”. Among the strategies to overcome these challenges are substitution of the costly materials with cheaper, more abundant ingredients along with utilizing inexpensive deposition methods like printing rather than vacuum-based methods such as evaporation and sputtering. Carbon materials attract more attention in the solar cell research community for their... 

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are Photoelectrochemical cells using wide band gap nanoporous oxide semiconductors sensitized by dye molecules. For achieving high efficiency DSSCs preparation of photoanode electrode with high surface aea which leads to adequate dye absorption is necessary. In order to achieve proper morphology, thickness, particles size and porosity, producing a TiO2 nano-structured paste is required. TiO2 powder was prepared using sol-gel method. following a calcination process at 300 degrees, XRD patterns showed presence of anatase and brookite structures with average crystallite size of 9 nm. Additives such as diethylene glycol, acetylacetone and Triton X-100 were used... 

Increase in growing concerns over environmental pollution and depletion of fossil fuel resources motivate the need for cleaner energy technologies and stimulate research in facilitating renewable energy systems. In recent years, photovoltaic systems have attracted great attention since they remove the need for energy storage systems and intermediate processess for energy conversion. However, high capital cost, low efficiency and low energy density per area of these systems, as compared with other technologies hinder its industrial use. To surmount these bottlenecks and improve technical performance of PV systems, it is crucial to optimize configuration of convertor connection and to improve...