Functionalized and Nanostructured Fibers for Photocatalysis and Energy Conversion

Fiber-type / flexible materials present a unique opportunity for the incorporation of photocatalytic / energy generating technology, as they typically have a broad surface area exposed to light (clothing, curtains, carpet). In this work, several methods of harvesting incident light striking a flexible substrate to perform useful work are examined. In the first section a gold and silver nanoparticle augmented TiO2 thin film textile coating is evaluated for its self-cleaning / UV-protective / anti-microbial properties, and stability of the film / substrate over time is examined. In the second section a dye sensitized / hybrid type solar cell architecture based on flexible carbon nanotube yarn is evaluated for its ability to convert incident light into electrical energy. In the final section an entirely polymer / hybrid based solar cell architecture also based on carbon nanotube yarn is evaluated and the relative strengths of flexible polymer-type cells are discussed

Functional materials, device architecture, and flexibility of perovskite solar cell

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are an emerging photovoltaic technology that promises to offer facile and efficient solar power generation to meet future energy needs. PSCs have received considerable attention in recent years, have attained power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) over 22%, and are a promising candidate to potentially replace the current photovoltaic technology. The emergence of PSCs has revolutionized photovoltaic research and development because of their high efficiencies, inherent flexibility, the diversity of materials/synthetic methods that can be employed to manufacture them, and the various possible device architectures. Further optimization of material compositions and device architectures will help further improve efficiency and device stability. Moreover, the search for new functional materials will allow for mitigation of the existing limitations of PSCs. This review covers the recently developed advanced techniques and research trends related to this emerging photovoltaic technology, with a focus on the diversity of functional materials used for the various layers of PSC devices, novel PSC architectures, methods that increase overall cell efficiency, and substrates that allow for enhanced device flexibility