Current Issue : April-June Volume : 2022 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 5 Articles
The monolithic materials of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) can be used successfully in CO2 adsorption. Here, the incorporation of CeO2 particles with and without polymer brushes grafted from the particles showed that the structural properties could be changed, affecting the adsorption of CO2. Polymer brushes of (1) poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), (2) poly(vinyl caprolactam) (PVCL) and (3) poly[(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl) trimethylammonium chloride] (PMETAC) were grafted from CeO2 via reversible additionfragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The preparation of monoliths of rGO with different modified CeO2 particles led to different thermal properties (TGA), structural changes (BET isotherms) and CO2 adsorption. The responsive character of the CeO2@polymer was proven by the DLS and UV results. The responsive character of the particles incorporated into the rGO monolith affected not only the adsorption capacity but also the microstructure and values of the surface volume of the pores of the monolith. Monoliths with porosity values for better adsorption were affected by the responsive character of the polymer....
In this work, TiO2 powders were prepared by high energy vibrating ball milling. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Photon cross correlation spectroscopy (PCCS with Nanophox) were used to determine the crystallite size of anatase TiO2. Depending on the grinding conditions (short grinding time, ball diameter, stainless steel ball and grinding powder ratio), the crystallite size decreased from 34 nm to 8 nm. The average diameter of a TiO2 particle with 8 nm crystals was ~221 nm. No structural phase transition was observed during milling....
Doped ZnO are among the most attractive transparent conductive oxides for solar cells because they are relatively cheap, can be textured for light trapping, and readily produced for large-scale coatings. Here, we focus on the development of alternative Na and K-doped ZnO prepared by an easy low-cost spray pyrolysis method for conducting oxide application. To enhance the electrical properties of zinc oxide, alkali-doped Zn1x MxO (x = 0.03) solid solutions were investigated. The resulting layers crystallize in a single hexagonal phase of wurtzite structure with preferred c-axis orientation along a (002) crystal plane. Dense, well attached to the substrate, homogeneous and highly transparent layers were obtained with great optical transmittance higher than 80%. The optical energy band gap of doped ZnO films increase from 3.27 to 3.29 eV by doping with Na and K, respectively. The electrical resistivity of the undoped ZnO could be decreased from 1.03 101 W.cm to 5.64 102 W.cm (K-doped) and 3.18 102 (Na-doped), respectively. Lastly, the carrier concentrations increased from 5.17 1017 (undoped ZnO) to 1 1018 (doped ZnO)....
A dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) is the third generation of solar technology, utilizing TiO2 nanoparticles with sizes of 20–30 nm as the photoelectrode material. The integration of smaller nanoparticles has the advantage of providing a larger surface area, yet the presence of grain boundaries is inevitable, resulting in a higher probability of electron trapping. This study reports on the improvement of charge transport through the integration of quantum dot (QD) TiO2 with a size of less than 10 nm as the dye absorption photoelectrode layer. The QD TiO2 samples were synthesized through sol–gel and reflux methods in a controlled pH solution without surfactants. The synthesized samples were analyzed using microscopic, diffraction, absorption, as well as spectroscopic analyses. A current–voltage and impedance analysis was used to evaluate the performance of a DSC integrated with synthesized TiO2 as the photoelectrode material. The sample with smaller crystallite structures led to a large surface area and exhibited a higher dye absorption capability. Interestingly, a DSC integrated with QD TiO2 showed a higher steady-state electron density and a lower electron recombination rate. The shallow distribution of the trap state led to an improvement of the electron trapping/de-trapping process between the Fermi level and the conduction band of oxide photoelectrode material, hence improving the lifetime of generated electrons and the overall performance of the DSC....
Pyrene solution and distilled water were flowed through a microreactor at a predetermined flow rate to generate pyrene crystals. Pyrene nanocrystals were crystallized by a Continuous Flow Microreactor. The particle size and luminescence properties of pyrene nanocrystals produced were evaluated. The crystal mean size between 60 nm and 400 nm could be controlled by the operating conditions. The crystal mean size decreased with increasing flow rate and solution concentration. In addition, the crystal morphology also changed. In the case of slow flow conditions, a needle-like crystal morphology was obtained. The crystal morphology became spherical on increasing the flow rate. Pyrene crystals with size about 400 nm exhibited luminescence at about 470 nm. As the crystal size decreased, the intensity of the luminescence also declined. The luminescence wavelength was in the range of about 370 to 400 nm....
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