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ZnO nanoparticles and poly(acrylic) acid-based polymer gel electrolyte for photo electrochemical cell

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Abstract

This work presents a photo electrochemical cell based on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and poly(acrylic) acid (PAA) doped with sodium iodide (NaI) and iodine (I2) polymer gel electrolyte. The ZnO powders were synthesized by sol–gel storage and sol–gel centrifugation. The ZnO powder synthesized via sol–gel centrifugation showed the optimal structural properties, with largest crystallite sizes of 58 nm, average particles size between 20 and 80 nm and indirect band gap energy of 3.20 eV. The highest conductivity [(8.0 ± 0.1) × 10−2 S cm−1] was obtained for PAA + 0.8 M NaI + 0.02 M I2. This sample achieved the lowest activation energy (0.029 eV) and electrochemical stability at 1.6 V. The ZnO powder synthesized via sol–gel centrifugation and PAA + 0.8 M NaI + 0.02 M I2 was fabricated as a Cu–ZnO/PAA + 0.8 M NaI + 0.02 M I2/C-ITO photo electrochemical cell.

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Acknowledgments

AAM wishes to thank the USM Short Term Grant (6039030) for its financial support for this study.

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Correspondence to Ahmad Azmin Mohamad.

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Tan, A.L., Khoo, L.J., Alias, S.S. et al. ZnO nanoparticles and poly(acrylic) acid-based polymer gel electrolyte for photo electrochemical cell. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 64, 184–192 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-012-2846-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-012-2846-z

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