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Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-C3N4)Incorporated TiO2 Nanoparticles as Efficient Photoanode in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Amini, Setayesh | 2024

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 57187 (07)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Materials Science and Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Mohammadi, Mohammad Reza
  7. Abstract:
  8. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), belonging to the third-generation of photovoltaic cells, aim to mimic the process of photosynthesis for electricity generation. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2) have been widely employed as photoanodes in DSSCs. However, the photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of these solar cells is hindered by electron-hole recombination at the photoanode-electrolyte interface. To address this issue, two-dimensional graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), synthesized from inexpensive urea, has been utilized to modify TiO2-based photoanodes. In this study, g-C3N4/TiO2 composite photoanodes with varying mass ratios were fabricated using an in-situ synthesis method. The incorporation of g-C3N4 creates a type II alignment with TiO2, extending the optical response of TiO2 to the visible light region while impeding rapid carrier recombination. These modifications significantly enhance the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on TiO2. The properties of g-C3N4/TiO2 composite materials were examined using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis Spectroscopy, Differential Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM). The performance of DSSCs was analyzed by measuring parameters such as short-circuit current density (JSC), open circuit voltage (VOC), filling factor (FF), and photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE). The characterization results demonstrated the successful synthesis of TiO2, g-C3N4, and TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites. This research presents an effective approach to enhance the performance of DSSCs by utilizing modified TiO2 photoanodes. Optimization of the g-C3N4 amount at 0.08 g in the synthesis of TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites resulted in TiO2 nanoparticles uniformly distributed on g-C3N4 sheets, with a particle size distribution of 10-20 nm. Furthermore, the type II alignment formation led to increased absorption of visible sunlight due to the reduced band gap of the nanocomposite (2.9 eV), resulting in a solar cell efficiency of 10.79%. This represents a noteworthy improvement of 42.3% compared to pure TiO2 electrodes
  9. Keywords:
  10. Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ; Titanium Dioxide ; Graphitic Carbon Nitride ; Photoelectric Conversion Efficiency (PCE) ; Photovoltaic System

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