• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 한국재료학회 2010년도 춘계학술발표대회
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• pp.12.1-12.1
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• 2010

We have developed a facile method to position different dyes (N719 and N749) sequentially in a mesoporous TiO2 layer through selective desorption and adsorption processes. Only upper part of the first adsorbed N719 dye was selectively removed by the desorption solution formulated with polypropylene glycol and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide without any damages of the dye. The desorption depth was controlled by the number of desorption process. Multi-dyed dye-sensitized solar cells (MDSSC) were fabricated by utilizing the method and their photovoltaic properties were investigated. From the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) measurement, it was found that the MDSSC exhibited the extended spectral response for the solar spectrum while without decrease of maximum IPCE value compare to the DSSCs using one kind of dye (N719 or N749). The highest photocurrent density of 19.3 mA/cm2 was obtained from the MDSSC utilizing $15\;{\mu}m$ N719 / $14\;{\mu}m$ N749 bi-layered mesoporous TiO2 film. The photocurrent density was 25% and 8% higher than that of the DSSC using only N719 and N749 dye as a sensitizer, respectively. The power conversion efficiency of 9.8% was achieved from the MDSSC under the AM 1.5G one sun illumination.

• Membrane Journal
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.328-335
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• 2017

Fabricating photocatalytic composite membrane with a mesoporous and tailored morphological structure would have significant implication for environmental remediation. In this study, we reported hybrid $TiO_2$ immobilized photocatalytic membrane and its application for the treatment of dye solution. Photocatalytic film with high porosity and homogeneity was fabricated by graft copolymer as polymer template. Hybridization of membrane filtration with photocatalysis was successfully achieved by photocatalytic membrane reactor developed. Result showed that membrane permeability was significantly reduced after immobilizing the $TiO_2$ film on bare $Al_2O_3$ support. The membrane characterization indicated that well organized $TiO_2$ film was successfully formed on $Al_2O_3$ support. Benefiting from the controlled morphology of $TiO_2$ film, the composite membrane exhibited almost complete degradation of organic dye within 5 h of filtration under UV illumination. Langmuir-Hinshelwood model explained degradation of organic dye. First-order rate constant was approximately six times with $TiO_2$ immobilized composite ceramic membrane, higher than the one with the bare $Al_2O_3$ support (0.0081 vs. $0.0013min^{-1}$).

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• 제53권5호
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• pp.632-637
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• 2015

Mesoporous $TiO_2$ granules were prepared by spray pyrolysis using nano-sized titania particles which were synthesized by a hydrothermal method, and they were evaluated as the photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells. To enhance the cell efficiency, nanoparticles within granules were chemically interconnected by adding titanium ethoxide (TEOT) to colloidal spray solution. The resulting titania particles had anatase phase without forming rutile. $TiO_2$ granules obtained showed about 400 nm in size, the specific surface area of $74-77m^2/g$, and average pore size of 13-17 nm. The chemical modification of $TiO_2$ granules by adding TEOT initially to the colloidal spray solution was proved to be an effective way in terms of increasing both the light scattering within photoanode and the lifetimes of photo-excited electrons. Consequently, the light-harvesting efficiency of TEOT-modified granules (${\eta}=6.72%$) was enhanced about 14% higher than primitive nanoparticles.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 한국진공학회 2013년도 제45회 하계 정기학술대회 초록집
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• pp.77.2-77.2
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• 2013

In this talk, I will briefly review recent results of my group related to application of atomic layer deposition (ALD) for fabricating environmental catalysts and organic solar cells. ALD was used for preparing thin films of TiO2 and NiO on mesporous silica with a mean pore size of 15 nm. Upon depositing TiO2 thin films of TiO2 using ALD, the mesoporous structure of the silica substrate was preserved to some extent. We show that efficiency for removing toluene by adsorption and catalytic oxidation is dependent of mean thickness of TiO2 deposited on silica, i.e., fine tuning of the thickness of thin film using ALD can be beneficial for preparing high-performing adsorbents and oxidation catalysts of volatile organic compound. NiO/silica system prepared by ALD was used for catalysts of chemical conversion of CO2. Here, NiO nanoparticles are well dispersed on silica and confiend in the pore, showing high catalytic activity and stability at 800oC for CO2 reforming of methane reaction. We also used ALD for surface modulation of buffer layers of organic solar cell. TiO2 and ZnO thin films were deposited on wet-chemically prepared ZnO ripple structures, and thin films with mean thickness of ~2 nm showed highest power conversion efficiency of organic solar cell. Moreover, performance of ALD-prepared organic solar cells were shown to be more stable than those without ALD. Thin films of oxides deposited on ZnO ripple buffer layer could heal defect sites of ZnO, which can act as recombination center of electrons and holes.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제28권6호
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• pp.953-958
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• 2007

Anchoring quantum dots (QDs) onto thermodynamically stable, large band gap oxide semiconductors is a very important strategy to enhance their quantum yields for solar energy conversion in both visible and near-IR regions. We describe a general procedure for anchoring a few chalcogenide QDs onto the titanium oxide layer. To anchor the colloidal QDs onto a mesoporous TiO2 layer, linker molecules containing both carboxylate and thiol functional groups were initially attached to TiO2 layers and subsequently used to capture dispersed QDs with the thiol group. Employing the procedure, we exploited cadmium selenide (CdSe) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs) as inorganic sensitizers for a large band gap TiO2 layer of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Their attachment was confirmed by naked eyes, absorption spectra, and photovoltaic effects. A few QD-TiO2 systems thus obtained have been characterized for photoelectrochemical solar energy conversion.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2017

Functional coatings, such as anti-reflection and self-cleaning, are frequently applied to cover glass for photovoltaic applications. Anti-reflection coatings made of mesoporous silica film have been shown to enhance the light transmittance. $TiO_2$ photocatalyst films are often applied as a self-cleaning coating. In this study, transparent hydrophobic anti-reflective and self-cleaning coatings made of $SiO_2/TiO_2$ thin layers were fabricated on a slide glass substrate by the sol-gel and dip-coating processes. The morphology of the functional coatings was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The optical properties of the functional coatings were investigated using an UV-visible spectrophotometer. Contact angle measurements were performed to confirm the hydrophobicity of the surface. The results showed that the $TiO_2$ films exhibit a high transmittance comparable to that of the bare slide glass substrate. The $TiO_2$ nanoparticles make the film more reflective and lead to a lower transmittance. However, the transmittance of the $SiO_2/TiO_2$ thin layers is 93.5% at 550 nm with a contact angle of $110^{\circ}$, which is higher than that of the bare slide glass (2.0%).

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 대한전기학회 2011년도 제42회 하계학술대회
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• pp.1485-1486
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• 2011

A layer of $TiO_2$ thin film less than ~500nm in thickness, as a blocking layer, was coated by sol-gel method directly onto the anode electrode to be isolated from the electrolyte in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). This is to prevent the electrons from back-transferring from the electrode to the electrolyte (I-/I3-). The effects of heat treatment conditions of the gel and as-coated film on the thickness and consolidation to substrate were studied. The flexible DSCs were fabricated with working electrode of Ti thin foil coated with blocking $TiO_2$ layer, dye-attached mesoporous $TiO_2$ film, gel electrolyte and counter electrode of Pt-deposited indium doped tin oxide/polyethylene naphthalate (ITO/PEN). The photo-current conversion efficiency of the cell was 5.3% ($V_{oc}=0.678V$, $J_{sc}=12.181mA/cm^2$, ff=0.634) under AM1.5, 100 mW/$cm^2$ illumination.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제32권10호
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• pp.3629-3633
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• 2011

The effect of a dense $TiO_2$ blocking layer prepared using the sol-gel method on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells was studied. The blocking layer formed directly on the working electrode, separated it from the electrolyte, and prevented the back transfer of electrons from the electrode to the electrolyte. The dyesensitized solar cells were prepared with a working electrode of fluorine-doped tin oxide glass coated with a blocking layer of dense $TiO_2$, a dye-attached mesoporous $TiO_2$ film, and a nano-gel electrolyte, and a counter electrode of Pt-deposited FTO glass. The gel processing conditions and heat treatment temperature for blocking layer formation affected the morphology and performance of the cells, and their optimal values were determined. The introduction of the blocking layer increased the conversion efficiency of the cell by 7.37% for the cell without a blocking layer to 8.55% for the cell with a dense $TiO_2$ blocking layer, under standard illumination conditions. The short-circuit current density ($J_{sc}$) and open-circuit voltage ($V_{oc}$) also were increased by the addition of a dense $TiO_2$ blocking layer.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.38-44
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• 2015

This review article summarizes the recent progress of quantum dot (QD)-sensitized solar cells based on mesoporous $TiO_2$ thin films. From the intrinsic characteristics of nanoscale inorganic QDs with various compositions, it was possible to construct a variety of 3rd-generation thin film solar cells by solution process. Depending on preparation methods, colloidal QD sensitizers are pre-prepared for later deposition onto the surface of $TiO_2$ or in-situ deposition of QDs from chemical bath is done for direct growth of QD sensitizers over substrates. Recently, colloidal QD sensitizers have shown an overall power conversion efficiency of ~7% by a very precise control of composition while a representative CdS/CdSe from chemical bath deposition have done ~5% with polysulfide electrolytes. In the near future, it is necessary to carry out systematic investigations for developing new hole-conducting materials and controlling interfaces within the cell, thus leading to an enhancement of both open-circuit voltage and fill factor while keeping the current high value of photocurrents from QDs towards more efficient and stable QD-sensitized solar cells.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 한국재료학회 2011년도 춘계학술발표대회
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• pp.8.1-8.1
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• 2011

Nanocrystalline titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) materials have been widely used as an electron collector in DSSC. This is required to have an extremely high porosity and surface area such that the dye can be sufficiently adsorbed and be electronically interconnected, resulting in the generation of a high photocurrent within cells. In particular, their geometrical structures and crystalline phase have been extensively investigated as important issues in improving its photovoltaic efficiency. In this study, we present a new strategy to fabricate a photoelectrode having a periodic structured $TiO_2$ film templated from 1D or 3D polystyrene (PS) microspheres array. Monodisperse PS spheres of various radiuses were used for colloidal array on FTO glasses and two types of photoelectrode structures with different $TiO_2$ materials were investigated respectively. One is the igloo-shaped electrode prepared by $TiO_2$ deposition by RF-sputtering onto 2D microsphere-templated substrates. At the interface between the film and substrate, there are voids formed by the decomposition of PS microspheres during the calcination step. These holes might be expected to play the predominant roles as scattering spherical voids to promote a light harvesting effect, a spacious structure for electrolytes with higher viscosity and effective paths for electron transfer. Additionally the nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ phase prepared by the RF-sputtering method was previously reported to improve the electron drift mobility within $TiO_2$ electrodes. This yields solar cells with a cell efficiency of 2.45% or more at AM 1.5 illumination, which is a very remarkable result, considering its $TiO_2$ electrode thickness (<2 ${\mu}m$). This study can be expanded to obtain higher cell efficiency by higher dye loading through the increase of surface area or multi-layered stacking. The other is the inverse opal photonic crystal electrode prepared by titania particles infusion within 3D colloidal arrays. To obtain the enlargement of ordered area and high quality of crystallinity, the synthesis of titania particles coated with a organic thin layer were applied instead of sol-gel process using the $TiO_2$ precursors. They were dispersed so well in most solvents without aggregates and infused successfully within colloidal array structures. This ordered mesoporous structure provides the large surface area leading to the enough adsorption of dye molecules and have an light harvesting effect due to the photonic band gap properties (back-and-forth reflection effects within structures). A major advantage of this colloidal array template method is that the pore size and its distribution within $TiO_2$ photoelectrodes are determined by those of latex beads, which can be controlled easily. These materials may have promising potentials for future applications of membrane, sensor and so on as well as solar cells.