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Influence of heat treatment process in In2O3-MWCNTs as photoanode in DSSCs

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Abstract

Indium oxide-multi-walled carbon nanotubes (In2O3-MWCNTs) were prepared by sol-gel method for DSSCs. The synthesis of indium oxide (In2O3) was carried out by dissolving indium chloride (InCl3) in a solvent of 2-methoxyethanol. Different annealing temperatures of 400, 450, 500, 550, and 600 °C were proposed in this study. The changes in the structural properties were analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. The XRD spectrum estimated the average crystallite sizes of 3 nm for each sample. AFM results indicated very rough surface area of the films where it increased linearly from 1.8 to 11 nm as the annealing temperature increases. The In2O3-MWCNTs-based DSSC exhibited good photovoltaic performance with power conversion efficiency (η), photocurrent density (J sc ), open circuit voltage (V oc ), and fill factor (FF) of 1.13 %, 5.5 mA/cm2, 0.53 V, and 0.42, respectively. Even though the film annealed at 450 °C exhibited low τ eff, it achieved the greatest D eff of 29.67 cm2 s−1 which provides an efficient pathway for the photogenerated electrons with minimum electron recombination loss that increased the J sc and V oc in the DSSC. The obtained structural and electron transport analysis was proposed as a suitable benchmark for In2O3-MWCNTs-based dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSCs) application. Hence, this study suggests that the optimum temperature for In2O3-MWCNTs is at annealing temperature of 450 °C prepared via sol-gel method.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Exploratory Research Grants Scheme (ERGS/1/2013/TK07/UKM/03/2) and Photonic Technology Laboratory, Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronics (IMEN), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical, Electronic and Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    S. Mahalingam & H. Abdullah

  2. Unit Pengajian Asas Kejuruteraan UPAK, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    I. Ashaari

  3. Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectrics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    S. Shaari

  4. Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    A. Muchtar

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  1. S. Mahalingam
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  2. H. Abdullah
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Correspondence to H. Abdullah.

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Mahalingam, S., Abdullah, H., Ashaari, I. et al. Influence of heat treatment process in In2O3-MWCNTs as photoanode in DSSCs. Ionics 22, 711–719 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-015-1593-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-015-1593-x

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