Abstract
Background: We report on the fabrication and characterization of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) and Zinc Oxide Graphene (ZnO-G) composites via a simple chemical route-polyol process, using zinc nitrate hexahydrate, ethylene glycol and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) as the precursors. The ZnO-G composites exhibit significantly enhanced photoluminescence, which is ~ 8 times stronger than that of ZnO samples. Such improved optical property is attributed to the contribution of plasmonic effect of graphene in ZnO-G. Moreover, the high crystalline quality ZnO-G composites hold great potential for dyesensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications.
Method: Graphite oxide (GO) was synthesized using modified hummers method. RGO was then synthesized from GO by using hydrazine hydrate as a reducing agent.
Results: The short-circuit current density was increased in the ZnOG solar cell compared to that of bare ZnO device, which is around 1.930 mA/cm2 and 0.308 mA/cm2 respectively. The conversion efficiency of the ZnO-G DSSC was measured as 0.438%, which is ~ 7 times higher than that of ZnO DSSC. The enhanced conversion efficiency achieved in ZnO-G DSSC resulted from the enhanced absorption and large surface area of the composite compared to ZnO. The synthesized flakes like ZnO and ZnO-G composites offer promising materials for DSSC applications.
Keywords: Zinc oxide, graphene, nanomaterials, porous, polyol method, dye sensitized solar cell.
Graphical Abstract
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
?Recent Advances in Design, Characterizations, Applications and Future Prospective of Smart Nanomaterials?
Scope of the Thematic Issue: Smart materials are the family of materials (hydrogels, nitinol, electroactive polymer, graphene structures, carbon-metal nanohybrids ?many more) which represent their significant electrical, catalytic, thermal, optical, mechanical and magnetic properties. There are various numbers of categorized smart nanomaterials materials reported so far such as thermoresponsive, piezoelectric, ...read more
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