• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.227-233
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• 2009

Recently, dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), one of the solar cells, has been widely investigated. Studies on DSSCs can be classified into 4 fields such as $TiO_2$ nanocrystalline materials, dyes, electrolytes and conductive plate. In this work, $TiO_2$ nanoparticles for dye adsorption were synthesized, and added into the photo-electrode paste with different phosphor types and contents. Then, the influence of phosphor additives on the conversion efficiency of DSSCs was investigated. It was found that the maximum conversion efficiency was 8.81% when 0.5% of YAG phospher having the particle size of 400 nm was used.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2017

Materials exposed to outside will deteriorate due to various weathering factors such as sunlight, heat, temperature, humidity and so on. Therefore, predicting speed of degradation and life time is a very important issue. This research uses retro-reflective sheets with white and green which are most commonly used colors to conduct the outdoor exposure test and acceleration test of xenon arc in Arizona state in the United States, Chennai in India, Sanary in France and Seosan in Korea to measure the reflective performance of retro-reflection. The accelerated factor was obtained by using regression analysis through reflective values obtained from the acceleration test of xenon arc from Seosan area. Also, by using solar uv program, the accelerated factor of various climate regions were obtained and it was confirmed that the accelerated factor of Senary was 1.04, Arizona 1.82, Chennai 1.92 times higher than that of Seosan.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.78-82
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• 2022

Inorganic-organic hybrid perovskite solar cells have demonstrated considerable improvements, reaching 25.5% of certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) in 2020 from 3.8% in 2009 comparable to silicon photovoltacis. However, there remains important concern on the stability of perovskite solar cells under environmental conditions that should be solved prior to commercialization. In order to overcome the problem, we have introduced a small amount of octylammonium iodide with longer alkyl chain than volatile methylammonium iodide into MAPbI₃ perovskites. The presence of octylammonium into perovskites were confirmed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and UV-visible spectroscopy. Moreover, octylammonium-modified perovskite solar cells showed a PCE of 16.6% and enhanced moisture stability with an increased contact angle of 72.2° from 57.0°. This work demonstrated the importance of perovskite compositional engineering for improving efficiency and stability.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.1081-1088
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• 2013

Two new metal-free organic dyes bridged by anthracene-mediated ${\pi}$-conjugated moieties were successfully synthesized for use in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). A N,N-diphenylthiophen-2-amine unit in these dyes acts as an electron donor, while a (E)-2-cyano-3-(thiophen-2-yl)acrylic acid group acts as an electron acceptor and an anchoring group to the $TiO_2$ electrode. The photovoltaic properties of (E)-2-cyano-3-(5-((10-(5-(diphenylamino)thiophen-2-yl)anthracen-9-yl)ethynyl)thiophen-2-yl)acrylic acid (DPATAT) and (E)-2-cyano-3-(5'-((10-(5-(diphenylamino)thiophen-2-yl)anthracen-9-yl)ethynyl)-2,2'-bithiophen-5-yl)acrylic acid (DPATABT) were investigated to identify the effect of conjugation length between electron donor and acceptor on the DSSC performance. By introducing an anthracene moiety into the dye structure, together with a triple bond and thiophene moieties for fine-tuning of molecular configurations and for broadening the absorption spectra, the short-circuit photocurrent densities ($J_{sc}$), and open-circuit photovoltages ($V_{oc}$) of DSSCs were improved. The improvement of $J_{sc}$ in DSSC made of DPATABT might be attributed to much broader absorption spectrum and higher molecular extinction coefficient (${\varepsilon}$) in the visible wavelength range. The DPATABT-based DSSC showed the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.34% (${\eta}_{max}$ = 3.70%) under AM 1.5 illumination ($100mWcm^{-2}$) in a photoactive area of $0.41cm^2$, with the $J_{sc}$ of $7.89mAcm^{-2}$, the $V_{oc}$ of 0.59 V, and the fill factor (FF) of 72%. In brief, the solar cell performance with DPATABT was found to be better than that of DPATAT-based DSSC.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.2765-2768
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• 2013

The effect of $TiO_2$ nanorods (TNR) and nanoparticles (TNP) composite photoelectrodes and the role of TNR to enhance the energy conversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was investigated. The 5% TNR content into the TNP photoelectrode significantly increased the short-circuit current density ($J_{sc}$) and the open-circuit potential ($V_{oc}$) with the overall energy conversion efficiency enhancement of 13.6% compared to the pure TNP photoelectrode. From the photochemical and impedemetric analysis, the increased $J_{sc}$ and $V_{oc}$ for the 5% TNR/TNP composite photoelectrode was attributed to the scattering effect of TNR, reduced electron diffusion path and the suppression of charge recombination between the composite photoelectrode and electrolyte or dye.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.281-287
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• 2015

Two mini neutron monitors are installed at Concordia research station (Dome C, Central Antarctica, $75^{\circ}06^{\prime}S$, $123^{\circ}23^{\prime}E$, 3,233 m.a.s.l.). The site has unique properties ideal for cosmic ray measurements, especially for the detection of solar energetic particles: very low cutoff rigidity < 0.01 GV, high elevation and poleward asymptotic acceptance cones pointing to geographical latitudes > $75^{\circ}S$. The instruments consist of a standard neutron monitor and a "bare" (lead-free) neutron monitor. The instrument operation started in mid-January 2015. The barometric correction coefficients were computed for the period from 1 February to 31 July 2015. Several interesting events, including two notable Forbush decreases on 17 March 2015 and 22 June 2015, and a solar particle event of 29 October 2015 were registered. The data sets are available at cosmicrays.oulu.fi and nmdb.eu.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.831-836
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• 2013

Platinized counter electrode is common in most of the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) researches because of its high catalytic activity and corrosion stability against iodine in the electrolyte. Platinum (Pt) film coating on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass surface by using alcoholic solution of hexachloroplatinic acid ($H_2PtCl_6$), paste containing Pt precursors or sputtering are widely used techniques. This paper presents a novel application of Pt ink containing nanoparticles for making platinized counter electrode for DSSC. The characteristics of Pt films coated on FTO glass surface by different chemical methods were compared along with the performance parameters of the DSSCs made by using the films as counter electrodes. The samples coated with Pt inks were sintered at $300^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes whereas Pt-film and Pt-paste were sintered at $400^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes. The Pt ink diluted in n-hexane was found to a promising candidate for the preparation of platinized counter electrode. The ink may also be applicable for DSSC on flexible substrates after optimization its sintering temperature.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.3317-3322
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• 2011

This study examines the photoelectric conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) when nanometer-sized Zr (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mol %)-$TiO_2$ prepared using a solvothermal method is utilized as the working electrode material. The particle sizes observe in the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images are < 30 nm in all samples. The absorption band is slightly broadened at the tail for the 0.1 mol % Zr-$TiO_2$, and the intensity of the photoluminescence (PL) curves of the Zr-incorporated $TiO_2$ is significantly smaller than that of the pure $TiO_2$. Compared to that using pure $TiO_2$, the energy conversion efficiency is enhanced considerably by the application of Zr-$TiO_2$ in the DSSCs to approximately 6.17% for 0.5 mol % Zr-$TiO_2$ with the N719 dye (10.0 ${\mu}m$ film thickness and 5.0 mm ${\times}$ 5.0 mm cell area) under 100 mW/$cm^2$ of simulated sunlight.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.145-150
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• 2014

This study investigates the preparation of anti-reflective (AR) coating film to improve the efficiency of solar cell. The AR coating film was successfully obtained by dip-coating with AR coatings prepared by sol-gel method. Fluoroalkylsilane was additionally introduced into the coatings to give the self-cleaning effect of AR coating film. We performed the abrasion test, pencil scratch hardness test and cross-cut test to identify the mechanical strength of AR coating film. As the results, the transmittance of AR coating films with 9.07, 18.13 and 27.20 of IPA/MTMS molar ratios were 93.1, 93.6 and 95.3%, respectively. The water contact angle and transmittance of AR coating film increased by the introduction of hydrophobicity. The prepared AR coating film shows the high level of abrasion, hardness and adhesion. The IPA/MTMS molar ratio of 27.20 and the withdrawing speed range of 0.20 ~ 0.28cm/sec are the optimal coating condition in terms of the transmittance and mechanical strength of AR coating film.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.1188-1194
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• 2013

Transparent $TiO_2$ thin films have been prepared by sol-gel spin coating method. The sols used for deposition of thin films were prepared with different ethanol content. The effect of ethanol (solvent) concentration and annealing temperature on the performance of $TiO_2$ thin film solar cells has been studied. The results indicate that the as deposited films are amorphous in nature. $TiO_2$ thin films annealed at temperatures above $350^{\circ}C$ exhibited crystalline nature with anatase phase. The results also indicated that the crystallinity of the films improved with increase of annealing temperature. The high resolution transmission electron microscope images showed lattice fringes corresponding to the anatase phase of $TiO_2$. The band gap of the deposited films has been found to decrease with increase in annealing temperature and increase with increase in ethanol concentration. The dependents of photovoltaic efficiency of the dye-sensitized $TiO_2$ thin film solar cells (DSSCs) with the amount of ethanol used to prepare thin films was determined from photocurrent-voltage curves.