3 research outputs found
Large-Scale Synthesis of PbS–TiO<sub>2</sub> Heterojunction Nanoparticles in a Single Step for Solar Cell Application
The demand for low cost solar energy technology calls
for manufacturing processes using economic liquid- or gas-phase synthesis
of the corresponding materials. In this regard, manufacturing of quantum
dot-sensitized solar cells is particularly complicated through multiple-step
preparations. Material pairs such as TiO<sub>2</sub>–PbS heterojunctions
have shown high absorption of visible light and good electron transfer
properties. However, traditional solution processing requires extensive
surface functionalization or the use of surfactants to obtain well-defined
films. Such surfactants, unfortunately, often lower electron hopping/tunneling
in the system (surfactants are usually insulators) and therefore have
to be removed or exchanged before completing device fabrication. Similarly,
the so far presented processes to deposit PbS directly on TiO<sub>2</sub> are very time consuming. In this paper, we present a single-step,
large-scale, operable process to synthesize PbS–TiO<sub>2</sub> heterojunction particles by aerosol synthesis using reducing flame
spray pyrolysis. Nanopowders with different lead sulfide to titanium
dioxide ratios were produced and characterized. Thermodynamic equilibrium
calculations of the gaseous environment during the combustion process
show that the process is robust with regard to usual process changes
or fluctuations. We further showed how this approach allowed us to
vary the structure and size of the PbS–TiO<sub>2</sub> heterojunction
particles, as long as an excess of sulfur species (S/Pb = 2.5) was
applied during processing
Electrical Resistivity of Assembled Transparent Inorganic Oxide Nanoparticle Thin Layers: Influence of Silica, Insulating Impurities, and Surfactant Layer Thickness
The electrical properties of transparent, conductive
layers prepared
from nanoparticle dispersions of doped oxides are highly sensitive
to impurities. Production of cost-effective thin conducting films
for consumer electronics often employs wet processing such as spin
and/or dip coating of surfactant-stabilized nanoparticle dispersions.
This inherently results in entrainment of organic and inorganic impurities
into the conducting layer leading to largely varying electrical conductivity.
Therefore, this study provides a systematic investigation on the effect
of insulating surfactants, small organic molecules and silica in terms
of pressure dependent electrical resistivity as a result of different
core/shell structures (layer thickness). Application of high temperature
flame synthesis gives access to antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) nanoparticles
with high purity. This well-defined starting material was then subjected
to representative film preparation processes using organic additives.
In addition ATO nanoparticles were prepared with a homogeneous inorganic
silica layer (silica layer thickness from 0.7 to 2 nm). Testing both
organic and inorganic shell materials for the electronic transport
through the nanoparticle composite allowed a systematic study on the
influence of surface adsorbates (e.g., organic, insulating materials
on the conducting nanoparticle’s surface) in comparison to
well-known insulators such as silica. Insulating impurities or shells
revealed a dominant influence of a tunneling effect on the overall
layer resistance. Mechanical relaxation phenomena were found for 2
nm insulating shells for both large polymer surfactants and (inorganic)
SiO<sub>2</sub> shells
Effective Ligand Passivation of Cu<sub>2</sub>O Nanoparticles through Solid-State Treatment with Mercaptopropionic Acid
In colloidal nanoparticle
(NPs) devices, trap state densities at
their surface exert a profound impact on the rate of charge carrier
recombination and, consequently, on the deterioration of the device
performance. Here, we report on the successful application of a ligand
exchange strategy to effectively passivate the surface of cuprite
(Cu<sub>2</sub>O) NPs. Cu<sub>2</sub>O NPs were prepared by means
of a novel synthetic route based on flame spray pyrolysis. FTIR, XRD,
XPS, and HRTEM measurements corroborate the formation of cubic cuprite
Cu<sub>2</sub>O nanocrystals, excluding the possible presence of undesired
CuO or Cu phases. Most importantly, steady-state emission and transient
absorption assays document that surface passivation results in substantial
changes in the intensity of emissive excitonic statesî—¸centered
at copper and oxygen vacanciesî—¸and in the lifetime of excitons
near the band edge. To shed light onto ultrafast processes in Cu<sub>2</sub>O nanocrystals additional pump probe experiments on the femtosecond
and nanosecond time scales were carried out. Two discernible species
were observed: on one hand, an ultrafast component (∼ps) that
relates to the excitons; on the other hand, a long-lived component
(∼μs) that originates from the defects/trap states