Facile Microwave Irradiation Research Articles

A microwave-assisted, solvent-free approach for effective grafting of high-permittivity fillers to construct homogeneous polymer-based dielectric film with high energy density

Polymer-based dielectric film capacitors are essential energy storage components in high-power energy storage devices benefiting from their high breakdown strength (Eb) and ultra-fast charge storage/release capability. However, the state-of-the-art commercial capacitor, biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), exhibits limited energy storage density primarily due to low dielectric constant, which hinders the advancement of the film capacitor industry. Introducing high-permittivity (high-k) nanofillers into PP matrix to improve polarization is a promising method but poor filler dispersion leads to a remarkable decrease of Eb, while various strategies to enhance dispersion of fillers typically require sophisticated process involving toxic procedure and consuming significant time and cost. Herein, we show that a novel and scalable surface grafting method for high-k fillers can be achieved by a facile and short-period microwave irradiation with the assistance of silane coupling agent (KH560). As a demonstration, the KH560 is effectively grafted onto the surface of barium titanate (BT), achieving a high grafting ratio of 4.91 % at a yield of 85.1 % within a short time (40s). Furthermore, the surface modified BT nanofillers are introduced into PP matrix and then biaxially stretched. The as-prepared film exhibits excellent dispersion and superior compatibility, resulting in a remarkable enhancement of tensile strength (from 82 MPa to 115.4 MPa), breakdown strength (from 200 MV/m to 254 MV/m), and energy density (from 1.49 J/cm3 to 2.21 J/cm3). This work proposes a new strategy for constructing homogeneous polymer-based dielectric film by microwave activating high-k fillers and is crucial for the design of next-generation energy storage devices.

Photocatalytic degradation of ternary dye mixture using RGO, γ-Fe2O3 and ZnO based binary and ternary nanocomposites

In this work, we report on the improved photocatalytic degradation of a ternary dye mixture of Malachite green (MG), Methyl orange (MO), and Rhodamine B (RhB), by RGO-based binary (RGO/γ-Fe2O3) and ternary (RGO/γ-Fe2O3/ZnO) nanocomposites (NCs). These NCs are synthesized with a green, facile, and rapid microwave irradiation route using Mangifera Indica leaf extract as a reducing agent. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) give clear insight into the phase purity and uniform growth of γ-Fe2O3 and γ-Fe2O3-ZnO nanoparticles over the RGO sheets which confirms the reduction of iron and zinc precursors, and graphene oxide via Mangifera to form NCs. The binary and ternary NCs show 100 % degradation of ternary dye mixture in 40 min and 21 min, respectively, under UV irradiation. UV–Visible spectra confirm a reduced energy band gap, 1.96 eV for ternary NCs, and 2 eV for binary NCs as compared to 2.3 eV for γ-Fe2O3. The reduction in band gap and synergism amid RGO and nanoparticles of γ-Fe2O3 and ZnO presents that suppressed charge carrier recombination, enhanced charge carrier lifetime, improved interfacial charge transfer and availability of more active sites in RGO/γ-Fe2O3/ZnO ternary NCs are responsible for highly efficient photocatalytic activities. Reaction kinetics analysis reveals the suitability of the pseudo first-order kinetics and Freundlich model for dye degradation.

Biomass-derived phosphorus-doped hierarchical porous carbon fabricated by microwave irritation under ambient atmosphere with high supercapacitance performance in trifluoroacetic acid electrolyte

Improving energy density while minimizing the cost is significant for boosting the commercial application of supercapacitors. In this paper, a facile microwave irradiation method is successfully developed for converting biomass into a phosphorus-doped hierarchical porous carbon with high specific surface area, good conductivity, and enhanced wettability within 5 min under ambient atmosphere. The prepared material releases a high specific capacitance of up to 297.1 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 within a wide voltage window of −1–0.5 V in a newly developed TFA electrolyte. The symmetric supercapacitor devices assembled using the prepared material and the TFA electrolyte can be stably operated at 1.5 V and exhibit high capacitance retention of up to 94.9 % after 30,000 cycles. A nearly 2.5-fold improvement in energy density (16.5 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 375 W kg−1) is achieved for the assembled devices only by replacing the traditional H2SO4 electrolyte with the newly developed TFA electrolyte. By employing the developed microwave irradiation method with high efficiency and low cost and the newly developed TFA electrolyte, excellent performance and low cost can be achieved simultaneously for supercapacitors, which provides a promising strategy to boost the commercial application of supercapacitors.

CaMoO4 Persimmon/MCMB composites with highly exposed (103) active facets and enhanced properties for reversible lithium storage

The rapid and controllable synthesis of materials with specific exposed planes is regarded as a novel strategy to design electrodes, which is beneficial to promote the lithium-ion battery properties and to push the exciting developments. Herein, we revealed that the (103) plane of CaMoO4, possessing the least energy from the systematically simulative results of the first-principle calculations, is the preferred orientation for lithium ions migration from the surface to the bulk cavity. Therefore, three-dimensional CaMoO4 persimmon/mesocarbon-microbead (MCMB) microcomposites with exposed (103) active planes were designed via a facile microwave irradiation strategy, which is in favor of highly reversible Li+ insertion/extraction. Meanwhile, the crystallographic variations and phase changes of the CaMoO4/MCMB composites were investigated by in-situ X-ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry and theoretical calculations to probe the lithium storage mechanism during charge-discharge cycling. In particular, the CaMoO4 persimmon/MCMB anode with 20.16 wt% CaMoO4 loading (Sample 2) exhibits a high initial specific capacity of 991.3 mAh g−1, a reversible capacity of 543.5 mAh g−1 even after 80 cycles, and a low apparent activation energy of 39.68 kJ mol−1 originating from the enhanced dynamic property. Besides, the variations of electrode materials on morphology over cycles were observed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy characterizations. The results demonstrate that the micro/nanostructures with exposed planes in the as-prepared CaMoO4/MCMB composites, achieving a good microtopology stability via tearing down the cell after cycles, are promising candidates for high-performance LIBs.

Microwave Assisted Preparation of Barium Doped Titania (Ba/TiO2) as Photoanode in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

Pure TiO2 and barium (0.5 wt%) doped TiO2 (Ba/TiO2) nanostructures have been synthesized via facile microwave irradiation method. The pure anatase phase of synthesized photoactive material was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Ba doping in the TiO2 host structure influenced the optical band gap as confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy. The optical band gap increased from 3.21 eV for the TiO2 to 3.26 eV for Ba/TiO2. Morphological analysis of synthesized TiO2 and Ba/TiO2 was conducted using scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed the formation of Ba/TiO2 and no impurities were observed. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that the charge transfer resistance increased for Ba/TiO2, which reduced dark current creation in a dye-sensitized solar cell. The highest power conversion efficiency (3.24%) was achieved for Ba/TiO2 photoanode compared to 2.1% for a pure TiO2 photoanode-based device.

Cyclic voltammetry response of TiO2 nanostructures prepared via fast and facile microwave irradiation

Cyclic voltammetry response of TiO2 nanostructures prepared via fast and facile microwave irradiation

A Z-scheme CuO–ZnO–ZnS–CuS quaternary nanocomposite for solar-light-driven photocatalytic performance

A quaternary CuO–CuS–ZnO–ZnS nanocomposite was successfully synthesized via a facile microwave irradiation based on the preprepared ZnS and CuO nanoparticles. CuO–CuS–ZnO–ZnS nanocomposite was a porous photocatalyst, providing excellent adsorption performance. It was sensitive to both ultraviolet and visible light, moreover, the photoelectrochemical measurements confirmed that there was a high separation rate and low recombination rate of photo-generated charge carriers in the nanocomposite, endowing excellent photocatalytic activity in the sunlight. Under the simulated solar light irradiation, the removal efficiency of rhodamine B (RhB) pollutant (30 mg/L) over CuO–CuS–ZnO–ZnS nanocomposite was 33.98 and 2.90 times of pristine CuO and ZnS, respectively. The outstandingt photocatalytic performance was attributed to Z-scheme charge transfer path.

Redispersed Bi nanoparticles on graphene fiber fabric anode regulated by microwave irradiation for flexible sodium ion capacitors

• Flexible electrode of Bi nanoparticles anchored on graphene fiber fabric is fabricated. • Micro-sized Bi can be redispersed into 20 nm on GFF in 5 s by microwave. • Competitive mechanisms are proposed to dominate the redispersion. • Flexible Bi/GFF anode exhibits superior Na + storage capacity for sodium ion capacitors. Sp 2 dominated carbon supported metal nanoparticles with well-controlled structures are promising for portable electrochemical energy storage device with “triple-high” (energy, power, and cycle) feature, yet remains elusive. We report here a flexible graphene fiber fabric (GFF) with well-dispersed Bi nanoparticles by a facile and efficient microwave (MW) irradiation method. By regulating the irradiation duration and π-π conjugated structure of GFF, the pristine micro-sized Bi particles can be uniformly redispersed on GFF with an average particle size of 20 nm in 5 s. The competitive mechanisms between the MW accumulated energy and surface energy of Bi nanoparticles as well as energy conversion efficiency are proposed to dominate this redispersion and particle size changing process. The entire Bi/GFF composite exhibits good conductivity, flexibility, and superior sodium ion storage specific capacity of 113 mAh g −1 at 30 A g −1 , which are conceptionally demonstrated as an anode for flexible sodium ion capacitors (SICs). The quasi-solid-state SICs exhibit great mechanical-electrochemical stability, integration property, long-term stability, and high energy/power densities. This work offers a model material of sp 2 dominated carbon supported metal nanoparticles with well-controlled structures by an efficient and facile route, demonstrating a potential for flexible, and “triple-high” energy storage device in the future.

Impact of Erbium (Er) and Yttrium (Y) doping on BiVO4 crystal structure towards the enhancement of photoelectrochemical water splitting and photocatalytic performance

An efficient BiVO4nanocatalyst with Erbium (Er) and Yttrium (Y) doping was synthesized via a facile microwave irradiation route and the obtained materials were further characterized through various techniques such as p-XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, UV–Vis DRS, PL, LSV, and EISanalysis. The obtained results revealed that the rare metals induce the stabilization of the monoclinic-tetragonal crystalline structure with a distinct morphology. The yttrium doped BiVO4 (Y–BiVO4) monoclinic-tetragonal exhibited anefficient photoelectrochemical water splitting and photocatalytic performanceare compared to bare BiVO4. TheY-BiVO4 indicated increased results of photocurrent of 0.43 mA/cm2and bare BiVO40.24 mA/cm2. Also, the Y-doped BiVO4 nanocatalyst showed the maximum photocatalytic activity for the degradation of MB, MO, and RhB. A maximum degradation of 93%, 85%, and 91% was achieved for MB, MO, and RhB respectively, within 180 min under the visible light illumination. The photocatalytic decomposition of acetaldehyde also was performed. The improved photoelectrochemical water splitting and photocatalytic activity are due to the narrowing the bandgap, leading to extending the photoabsorption capability and reducing the recombination rate of photoexcited electron-hole pairs through the formation inner energy state of the rare earth metals. The current study disclosed that the synthesis of nanomaterials with crystal modification could be a prospectivecontender forhydrogen energy production as well as to the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants.To the best of our knowledge, both photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical studies were never been reported before for this type of material.

Sustainable Microwave Assisted Synthesis and Anti-proliferative Response of Starch-Based CNT-IO and CNT-ZO Nanocomposites: A Comparative Study

Starch based carbon nanotubes-iron oxide (CNT-IO) and carbon nanotubes-zirconium oxide (CNT-ZO) nanocomposites (NCs) were fabricated using facile microwave irradiation technique from different plant-based starch sources namely Tapioca sago (TS), Hordeum vulgare (HV) and Eleusina coracona (EC) and metal oxide precursor solutions. The prepared NCs were studied by different characterization techniques such as SEM, TEM, XRD, Raman spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. The Structural morphology of Starch based CNT-IO and CNT-ZO NCs observed like a rolled tubular structures exhibiting strong blue luminescence with the charge transfer between CNT and metal oxide. We have evaluated the anti-proliferative and anti-oxidant activity of starch-based CNT-IO and CNT-ZO NCs using MCF-7 cell line compared with the standard drug camptothecin and DPPH assay. Among the various NCs studied antioxidant activity of CNT-IO and CNT-ZO obtained from starch source Eleusina coracona was effective with IC50 values of 12.3 and 18.2 µg/mL respectively. The results suggest that EC/CNT-IO and EC/CNT-ZO NCs are most efficient in cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells.

Suitability of Iron (Fe)-Doped Tungsten Oxide (WO3) Nanomaterials for Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Applications

Pure and “Fe ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]wt.%)-doped” WO[Formula: see text] nanoparticles were prepared by facile microwave irradiation method and that was investigated for strong photo catalytic and antibacterial activity applications for the first time. The primary aim of this work is to reveal the great importance of oxygen vacancies ([Formula: see text] due to dopant (Fe[Formula: see text] for photo catalytic and antibacterial activity applications. This work also discusses the contribution of oxygen vacancies and their dependence on surface area and phase formation which are of great research interest for water purification and biological sciences. Herein, pure and “Fe ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]wt.%)-doped” WO[Formula: see text] nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by facile microwave irradiation (MWI) method (2.45 GHz/240W/10min) in ambient atmosphere. The phase formation and the crystalline nature of the prepared products were evaluated using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). It confirmed the phase formation of orthorhombic and monoclinic phase formations for the pure (WO[Formula: see text]H2O) and annealed samples (W[Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text] and WO[Formula: see text], respectively. Optical behavior of the samples from UV-Vis diffuse reflectance analysis revealed that W[Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text] has remarkable bandgap values (1.96[Formula: see text]eV) that clearly emphasizes the transfer of oxygen ions which helps in the movement of oxygen vacancies inside the crystalline domain. The morphological nature of the prepared products was observed by FE-SEM analysis and the average dimension was found to be 0.2–3.2[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m and 2–4[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m for the pure and annealed products, respectively. The specific surface area from BET analysis explored that W[Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text] having 55.16[Formula: see text]m2g[Formula: see text] was found to be higher than that of commercially available WO3. The photocatalytic behavior of the prepared compounds morphologies was investigated via Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under visible light irradiation. These results showed “Fe-doped” annealed WO3 nanoparticles have degradation efficiency of 86.9% along with high stable nature. On the other hand, to identify the suitability of the prepared products for antibacterial activity, the microbial strains of Gram-positive Bacillus sp. and Gram-negative strains of Pseudomonassp. and Salmonellasp. were used for the antimicrobial assay[Formula: see text] The results indicated that W[Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text] showed enhanced antibacterial nature when compared to that of Stoichiometry tungsten oxide (WO[Formula: see text] nanomaterials. From these observations, this work emphasizes the importance of oxygen vacancies for antibacterial activity applications.

A facile microwave irradiation synthesis of GO/CNTs hybrids doped with MnO2: structural and magnetic analysis

A facile microwave irradiation synthesis of GO/CNTs hybrids doped with MnO2: structural and magnetic analysis

Ni3S2/rGO nanoparticles ensemble by an in-situ microwave irradiation route for supercapacitors

Ni3S2/rGO (reduced graphene oxide) nanoparticles ensemble has been synthesized on the nickel foam as the supercapacitor electrode material by a facile microwave irradiation route. The resultant Ni3S2/rGO electrode exhibits superior capacitive performance, which is severalfold that of the bare Ni3S2. Especially, the Ni3S2/rGO electrode with 20 mg GO precursor (Ni3S2-20) shows highest areal and mass specific capacitances of 1.96 F cm−2 and 1192 F g−1 among all the studied samples, respectively, at the current density of 2 mA cm−2, and the capacitance can be retained to 95.4% after 10,000 cycles at the current density of 10 mA cm−2. A supercapacitor device fabricated by the Ni3S2-20 as both cathode and anode delivers a wide potential window in the range of 0–1.62 V, high areal and mass specific capacitances of 553.2mFcm−2 and 179.6 F g−1 at the current density of 2 mA cm−2, respectively, together with a high energy density of 67.9 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 535.7 W kg−1. The design of fast and facile synthesis strategy can offer a new insight into developing novel composite electrodes composed of carbon-based materials and pseudocapacitor materials for emerging energy storage applications.

Sb2S3 entrenched MWCNT composite as a low-cost Pt-free counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cell and a viewpoint for a photo-powered energy system

The current research interest is to use Sb2S3 entrenched Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) composite as Pt-free counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and also to test its usage as a supercapacitor. Hence here, Sb2S3 nanorods with different concentrations of MWCNT have been synthesized by facile microwave irradiation technique and are used as a counter electrode in Pt-free DSSCs and also tested for supercapacitance. Crystalline structure, shape, and quantum states have been elucidated using XRD, TEM, and XPS spectra, respectively. Among all, Sb2S3/CNT30 composite counter electrode delivers the highest Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE) of 5.02% with a short circuit current (JSC) of 12.68 mA cm−2 and open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 0.68 V. The improvement observed is due to the lower peak-to-peak separation (Epp), higher exchange current density (J0) and lower charge transfer resistance (RCT). The obtained PCE is compared with the standard Pt-based counter electrode (PCE~5.8%) and discussed. This composite is also found to be a suitable material for the supercapacitor. Among the electrodes, Sb2S3/CNT100 exhibits the highest specific capacity of 228 C g−1 with 1 Ag−1 with the capacitive retention of ~92.5% over 1000 charge-discharge cycles, which also reveals its ability for energy storage. The excellent capacitive and photovoltaic output highlights the promise of Sb2S3/MWCNT for photo-supercapacitor devices.

Solvent controlled synthesis of quercetin loaded CuS nanostructure: A versatile treatment against harmful bacteria and carcinogenic organic moiety in water

The present work demonstrates the successful synthesis of solvent controlled copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuS NP's) and nanotubes (CuS NT's) using a facile and green microwave irradiation method. Ethylene glycol and a mixture of water and ethylene glycol (1:1) were used as solvents for the preparation of CuS NT's and NP's, respectively. The catalytic and bactericidal attributes of the fabricated nano structures were measured and compared vividly. The formation of CuS nano structures was monitored using simple techniques like UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, XRD and then finally confirmed by TEM analysis. After complete structural elucidation, biologically active quercetin molecule was successfully loaded into both nano-modules and confirmed using UV, TGA and IR techniques. The respective loading efficiency in CuS NP's and NT's was estimated to be 9.59 ± 3% and 12.5 ± 3%. The release of quercetin drug using both CuS nano-modules at two different pH conditions (pH 2.2 and 7.4) was further investigated. Owing to the inherent bactericidal properties of nanostructures and quercetin, the synergistic effect of quercetin and CuS was also examined. Further, the catalytic efficiency of CuS NP's and NT's were tested on the removal of toxic carcinogenic dyes (Methyl orange and crystal violet) in solar light. The catalytic degradation study of methyl orange demonstrated 91.72% degradation ability with CuS NP's and 96.62% with CuS NT's in 30 min. Moreover, the percentage degradation of crystal violet with CuS NP's and NT's was found to be 96.92 and 97.23%, respectively.

A facile microwave route for fabrication of NiO/rGO hybrid sensor with efficient CO2 and acetone gas sensing performance using clad modified fiber optic method

The hybrid Nickel oxide/Reduced graphene oxide (NiO/rGO) nanostructure was prepared through facile one-pot microwave irradiation technique. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Transmission electronic microscope (TEM) results suggests the formation of the cubic structure of NiO with well uniform spherical shaped morphology. The morphological analysis reveals the formation of NiO/rGO nanostructures with the size of about 50−60 nm. Moreover, NiO nanoparticles are covered by rGO sheets thoroughly that shows the good formation of the binary nanocomposite. The function groups on the surface of composite nanostructures were studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. The N2 adsorption-desorption analysis represents that the surface area of NiO/rGO (112.4 m2/g), which is beneficial for developing the efficient gas sensing property of as-prepared nanostructure. The gas sensing ability of both NiO and NiO/rGO sensors was evaluated by using a clad modified fiber optic gas sensor setup. The CO2 and acetone gases were used as the target gas to detect the gas sensing ability of as-prepared NiO and NiO/rGO nanostructures. The results demonstrate that NiO/rGO sensor has good sensing response towards CO2 gas such as high sensitivity (83 counts/ppm), rapid response (16 s) and recovery time (22 s). The possible sensing mechanism of the proposed sensor is also discussed in detail.

Anchoring CoS on three-dimensional porous rGO thin films as efficient counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Rational design of advanced cost-effective counter electrode (CE) is vital for the development of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Herein, we report a novel CoS/reduced graphene oxide (CoS/rGO) composite counter electrode via a facile and rapid microwave irradiation plus ion exchange method. CoS nanoparticles are strongly anchored on three-dimensional (3D) porous rGO thin films. Due to positive advantages including high catalytic properties, enhanced active area, and electrical conductivity, the DSSC based on CoS/rGO counter electrode is endowed with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.86%, superior to that based on sputtered Pt counter electrode (6.50%). Our results indicate that CoS/rGO composite thin film is a low-cost and highly efficient CE for DSSCs.

High performance of facile microwave-assisted BiPO4 nanostructures as electrode material for energy storage applications

The present work reported a facile and fast microwave irradiation technique for the synthesis of BiPO4 nanostructures at different microwave irradiation time (5, 10, & 15 min) with fixed power of 850 W. X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy divulges that the consolidated samples have a hexagonal phase with no polluting influence. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) examination revealed the development of non-uniform hexagonal and rectangular-like crystals. A significant decrease in optical band energy (Eg) was observed with increasing the microwave irradiation time. The electrochemical properties of the as-developed sample studied by Cyclic voltammetry (CV), Galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in a three-electrode arrangement with a 2 M KOH solution as an aqueous electrolyte. CV and GCD curve analysis demonstrate the Faradaic battery-type redox behavior for all the BiPO4 electrode samples, unlike the carbon, deployed material. As a battery-type behavior, the BP15 electrode exhibits excellent electrochemical performance with a significant specific capacity (~610 C g-1), superb, remarkable cycling life (~97% at 2 A g-1 over 1000 cycles), respectively.

Tailoring power conversion efficiency of dye sensitized solar cell based on ZnO/g-C3N4 hybrid photoelectrodes via microwave irradiation route

Herein, first time we report the high performance dye sensitized solar cell (DSSCs) based on sensibly designing g-C3N4 modified by ZnO nanoparticles as photoanodes synthesized by one step facile microwave irradiation route. Formation of the hybrid composites and its optical properties were confirmed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, Energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), UV–Vis absorption and photoluminescence spectra analysis. Hexagonal crystalline structure with individual spherical shaped nanoparticles with size in the range of 15–25 nm is observed in bare ZnO was homogeneously exfoliated on the g-C3N4 sheets. Enhancing the light absorption property in the visible light region and diminish the recombination process of the electron-hole pairs was identified by UV and PL results. The J-V characteristic was studied the fabricated sandwich type solar cell device for various rational photoanodes. The optimized ZnO/g-C3N4 (15 wt% ZnO loaded g-C3N4) photoanode delivers a high photo-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.21%, which 4.2 times better than that of bare ZnO (2.19%). The photovoltaic based mechanism of the proposed photoelectrode was also discussed in detail.

Microwave synthesis and analysis of Sb2S3 nanostructures as IR photon-absorber and counter electrode for the design of symmetric solar cells

Sb2S3 nanostructures of orthorhombic phase are synthesized by a facile microwave irradiation technique by optimizing the morphology. These are employed as the infrared photon absorber of the solar spectrum, and J-V results confirm that Poly Vinyl Pyrrolidone (PVP) and citric treated Sb2S3 nanowires/nanorods deliver the highest JSC of ~3.45 mA/cm2, η of ~0.48% and 3.22 mA/cm2, η of ~0.35% respectively. The samples are employed as the counter electrode under TiO2/N719/(I-/I3-), and among all, PVP treated Sb2S3 yield the highest JSC of ~11.2 mA/cm2 and η of ~4.6%. This enhancement in Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE) is analyzed by impedance spectroscopy. Apart from photon-absorbing property, cyclic voltammetry measurements reveal that Sb2S3 acquire better electrocatalytic activity and charge-transfer ability under I3-/I- and polysulfide medium. This superior electrocatalytic activity will be useful in the design of symmetric solar cells in the future where this nanostructure can act as a sensitizer as well as counter electrode in a single cell.