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Published in: Journal of Nanoparticle Research 12/2015

01-12-2015 | Research Paper

Hierarchical SnO2 microspheres prepared by hydrothermal process for efficient improvement of dye-sensitized solar cell properties

Authors: Sawanta S. Mali, Chang Su Shim, Hyungjin Kim, Min Cheul Lee, Sangram D. Patil, Pramod S. Patil, Chang Kook Hong

Published in: Journal of Nanoparticle Research | Issue 12/2015

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Abstract

In the present investigation, hierarchical SnO2 microspheres were synthesized by controlled hydrothermal technique. The reaction temperature was kept fixed, while the reaction processing time varied from 16 to 24 h. Microscopic studies revealed these hierarchical microspheres composed of nanoparticles. The hydrothermal process time strongly influences the surface morphology of the sample deposited for 16 h by hydrothermal processes having dense microspherical morphology of agglomerated nanoparticles with 20 nm diameter. While, the sample deposited for 24 h shows well-grown microspheres with well-dispersed nanoparticles having 20 nm due to surface etching. On the basis of experimental results, a possible growth mechanism for the formation of the SnO2 hierarchical nanostructure was speculated. The well-dispersed nanoparticulate microspheres deposited for 24 h provide high surface area (29.56 m2 g−1) which facilitates effective light scattering. The dye-sensitized solar cell properties show that 1.68 and 3.12 % power conversion efficiency for the samples deposited for 16 and 24 h, respectively.

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Metadata
Title
Hierarchical SnO2 microspheres prepared by hydrothermal process for efficient improvement of dye-sensitized solar cell properties
Authors
Sawanta S. Mali
Chang Su Shim
Hyungjin Kim
Min Cheul Lee
Sangram D. Patil
Pramod S. Patil
Chang Kook Hong
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Journal of Nanoparticle Research / Issue 12/2015
Print ISSN: 1388-0764
Electronic ISSN: 1572-896X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-015-3260-6

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