• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
• /
• v.60 no.3
• /
• pp.584-587
• /
• 2011

In this work, the $TiO_2$ and $SnO_2$ thin films as blocking layers were coated directly onto the metal-mesh electrode surface to prevent unnecessary inflow of back-transfer electrons from the electrolyte ($I^-/I_3^-$) to the metal-mesh electrode. The DSCs were fabricated with working electrode of SUS mesh coated with blocking $TiO_2$ and $SnO_2$ layers, dye-attached mesoporous $TiO_2$ film, gel electrolyte and counter electrode of Pt-deposited F:$SnO_2$. From the experimental result, it was ascertained that the efficiency of metal electrode coated with $TiO_2$ by Dip-coating was superior to that of metal electrode coated with $SnO_2$ by Dip-coating and screen printing with the results of experiments. The photo-current conversion efficiency of the cell obtained from optimum fabrication condition was 3% ($V_{oc}$=0.61V, $J_{sc}$=11.64 mA/$cm^2$, ff=0.64) under AM1.5, 100 mW/$cm^2$ illumination.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
• /
• v.55 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2022

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is one of the most intensively investigated materials in materials science. Mostly, TiO₂ has been used in the form of nanoparticles, but recently new highly ordered TiO₂ nanotubes (U-tube) has been introduced and applied to various applications due to their one-dimensional charge path way. In the present paper, we described the formation process and physical properties of U-tube then, gave examples of applications in sequence. Firstly, in photocatalysis, U-tube was used with Au/Pt co-catalysts and showed enhanced photogenerated H₂ efficiency compared to bare TiO₂. Secondly, photoelectrochemical performance of U-tube was evaluated with different heat-treatment temperatures. As a further application, two different types of electrical cell (Ti-TiO₂-Pt and Ti-TiO₂-Pt_NP) was configurated to observe memristive behavior of U-tube. Both cells behaved as switching electrodes and follow a memristive movement in the high and low resistance state extremely well with high reproducibility.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.40 no.9
• /
• pp.842-848
• /
• 2003

Semiconducting $\alpha$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ film was prepared by the cathodic electrodeposition method on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) substrate for photoelectrochemical cell application. After heat treatment at 50$0^{\circ}C$, the phase was changed from Fe to $\alpha$-Fe$_2$O$_3$. The phase, morphology, absorbance, and photocurrent density (A/$\textrm{cm}^2$) of the film depended on the preparation conditions: deposition time, applied voltage, and the duration of heat treatment. The $\alpha$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ film was characterized by X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and UV -Visible Spectrophotometer. The stability of the $\alpha$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ film in aqueous solution was tested at zero bias potential under the white-light source of 100 mW/$\textrm{cm}^2$. The apparent grain size of the films formed at -2.0 V was larger than that grown at -2.5 V. The $\alpha$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ film deposited at -2.0 V for 180 s and heat-treated at 50$0^{\circ}C$ for 1 h showed the predominant photocurrent of 834$\mu$A/$\textrm{cm}^2$.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.244-249
• /
• 2007

The present work considers the concept of enzymatic photoelectrochemical generation of hydrogen through water splitting using a Xe lamp as a source of light. A solar cell was applied to the system in order to shift the level of electrochemical energy of the system, resulting in the rate of hydrogen production at $43\;{\mu}mol/(cm^2{\times}hr)$ in cathodic compartment with an anodized tubular $TiO_2$ electrode(ATTE, $5^{\circ}C$/1hr in 0.5 wt% HF-$650^{\circ}C$/5hr). The trend of the rate of hydrogen production, for the ATTEs with different annealing temperature from $350^{\circ}C$ to $850^{\circ}C$, fairly well coincided with the photoelectrical properties measured by potentiostat. The actual chemical bias through imposition of two electrolytes of different pHs between anode(13.68) and cathode(7.5) was 0.24eV.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2010.05a
• /
• pp.3.1-3.1
• /
• 2010

Water splitting reaction using photocatalysts is of great interest in the utilization of solar energy [1]. In the present work, visible light-responsive $TiO_2$ thin films (Vis-$TiO_2$) were prepared by a radio frequency magnetron sputtering (RF-MS) deposition method and applied for the separate evolution of $H_2$ and $O_2$ from water as well as the photofuel cell. Special attentions will be focused on the effect of HF treatment of Vis-$TiO_2$ thin films on their photocatalytic activities. Vis-$TiO_2$ thin films were prepared by an RF-MS method using a calcined $TiO_2$ plate and Ar as the sputtering gas. The Vis-$TiO_2$ thin films were then deposited on the Ti foil substrate with the substrate temperature at 873 K (Vis-$TiO_2$/Ti). Vis-$TiO_2$/Ti thin films were immersed in a 0.045 vol% HF solution at room temperature. The effect of HF treatments on the activity of Vis-$TiO_2$/Ti thin films for the photocatalytic water splitting reaction have been investigated. Vis-$TiO_2$/Ti thin films treated with HF solution (HF-Vis-$TiO_2$/Ti) exhibited remarkable enhancement in the photocatalytic activity for $H_2$ evolution from a methanol aqueous solution as well as in the photoelectrochemical performance under visible light irradiation as compared with the untreated Vis-$TiO_2$/Ti thin films. Moreover, Pt-loaded HF-Vis-$TiO_2$/Ti thin films act as efficient and stable photocatalysts for the separate evolution of $H_2$ and $O_2$ from water under visible light irradiation in the presence of chemical bias. Thus, HF treatment was found to be an effective way to improve the photocatalytic activity of Vis-$TiO_2$/Ti thin films. Furthermore, unique separate type photofuel cell was fabricated using a Vis-$TiO_2$ thin film as an electrode, which can generate electrical power under solar light irradiation by using various kinds of biomass derivatives as fuel. It was found that the introduction of an iodine ($I^-/{I_3}^-$) redox solution at the cathode side enables the development of a highly efficient photofuel cell which can utilize a cost-efficient carbon electrode as an alternative to the Pt cathode.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.25-33
• /
• 1992

With the aim to obtain $TiO_2$ films with an increased photorespones and absorbance in the visible region of the solar spectrum, the direct oxidation of titanium alloys were performed. In this study, $Ti-Ga_2O_3$ alloy was prepared by mixing, pressing and arc melting of appropriate amounts of titanium and $Ga_2O_3$ powder. Electrochemical measurements were performed in three electrode cell using electrolyte of 1M NaOH solution. The oxide films on $Ti-Ga_2O_3$ alloy was composed of $Ti_2O$, TiO, $TiO_2$, $Ga_2TiO_5$. The free energy efficiency (${\eta}e$) of $Ti-Ga_2O_3$ oxide films had 0.8~1.3 % and were increased with the increase of $Ga_2O_3$ content up to 10wt %. The onset potential ($V_{on}$) had -0.8V~0.9V ranges and were shifted to anodic direction with the increase of $Ga_2O_3$ content. The spectral response of Ti-$Ga_2O_3$ oxides were similar to the response of the $TiO_2$ and their $E_g$ were observed to 2.90~3.0eV. Variations of onset potential($V_{on}$) associated with electrolyte pH were -59mV/pH. This probably reflects the nature of the bonding of $OH^-$ ion to the $TiO_2$ surface, a common phenomena in the transition-metal oxides.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.29 no.8
• /
• pp.491-496
• /
• 2019

In this study, we prepare pure $WO_3$ inverse opal(IO) film with a thickness of approximately $3{\mu}m$ by electrodeposition, and an ultra-thin $TiO_2$ layer having a thickness of 2 nm is deposited on $WO_3$ IO film by atomic layer deposition. Both sets of photoelectrochemical properties are evaluated after developing dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs). In addition, morphological, crystalline and optical properties of the developed films are evaluated through field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and UV/visible/infrared spectrophotometry. In particular, pure $WO_3$ IO based DSSCs show low $V_{OC}$, $J_{SC}$ and fill factor of 0.25 V, $0.89mA/cm^2$ and 18.9 %, achieving an efficiency of 0.04 %, whereas the $TiO_2/WO_3$ IO based DSSCs exhibit $V_{OC}$, $J_{SC}$ and fill factor of 0.57 V, $1.18mA/cm^2$ and 50.1 %, revealing an overall conversion efficiency of 0.34 %, probably attributable to the high dye adsorption and suppressed charge recombination reaction.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.2-8
• /
• 2012

In this study, in order to develop renewable bio-based nanocomposites, multi-functional nanocomposites from soybean resins (AESO, MAESO) and nanoclay were prepared. Photoelectrodes for environmental friendly dye-sensitized solar cell using soybean resin were also prepared. Organo-modified nanoclay was directly dispersed in functionalized soybean resins after mixing with styrene as a comonomer and radical initiator was used to copolymerize the nanocomposites. The observed morphology was a mixture of intercalated/exfoliated structure and the physical properties were improved by adding nanoclay. A nanocomposite using MAESO, which added COOH functional group to the soybean resin, showed better dispersibility than AESO composites. Ultrasonic treatment of the nanocomposites also improved the physical properties. Nanoporous $TiO_2$ photoelectrode was also prepared using soybean resins as a binder, after acid-treatment of $TiO_2$ surface using nitric acid. Dye-sensitized solar cells were prepared after adsorbing dye molecules on it. The $TiO_2$ photoelectrode prepared using soybean binder had high current density because of increased surface area by improved dispersibility. The photoelectrochemical properties and conversion efficiency of the solar cell were significantly improved using the soybean binder.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2012.02a
• /
• pp.213-213
• /
• 2012

It has been known that quantum confinement effect of CdSe nanocrystal was observed by increasing the number of deposition cycle using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. Here, we report on thermally-induced quantum confinement effect of CdSe at the given cycle number using spin-coating technology. A cation precursor solution containing $0.3\;M\;Cd(NO_3)_2{\cdot}4H_2O$ is spun onto a $TiO_2$ nanoparticulate film, which is followed by spinning an anion precursor solution containing $0.3\;M\;Na_2\;SeSO_3$ to complete one cycle. The cycle is repeated up to 10 cycles, where the spin-coated $TiO_2$ film at each cycle is heated at temperature ranging from $100^{\circ}C$ to $250^{\circ}C$. The CdSe-sensitized $TiO_2$ nanostructured film is contacted with polysulfide redox electrolyte to construct photoelectrochemical solar cell. Photovoltaic performance is significantly dependent on the heat-treatment temperature. Incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) increases with increasing temperature, where the onset of the absorption increases from 600 nm for the $100^{\circ}C$- to 700 nm for the $150^{\circ}C$- and to 800 nm for the $200^{\circ}C$- and the $250^{\circ}C$-heat treatment. This is an indicative of quantum size effect. According to Tauc plot, the band gap energy decreases from 2.09 eV to 1.93 eV and to 1.76 eV as the temperature increases from $100^{\circ}C$ to $150^{\circ}C$ and to $200^{\circ}C$ (also $250^{\circ}C$), respectively. In addition, the size of CdSe increases gradually from 4.4 nm to 12.8 nm as the temperature increases from $100^{\circ}C$ to $250^{\circ}C$. From the differential thermogravimetric analysis, the increased size in CdSe by increasing the temperature at the same deposition condition is found to be attributed to the increase in energy for crystallization with $dH=240cal/^{\circ}C$. Due to the thermally induced quantum confinement effect, the conversion efficiency is substantially improved from 0.48% to 1.8% with increasing the heat-treatment temperature from $100^{\circ}C$ to $200^{\circ}C$.