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Preparation of sulfur doped TiO2 nanoparticles from rutile sand and their performance testing in hybrid solar cells

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Abstract

A new method was adopted to prepare sulfur contained TiO2 nanoparticles extracted from rutile sand by chemical extraction process. The main aim of this work was to reduce the complexity of synthesis processes using a facile, scalable, and economic approach. The advantage of using sulfur dopant in the prepared sample was characterized and compared with the pure TiO2 nanoparticles. The widespread characterization studies revealed that S–TiO2 possesses 15–20 nm crystallite size and a spherical morphology with 95 m2 g−1 surface area. S–TiO2 showed improved optical absorption shifted from the UV to visible region compared to pure TiO2, thereby increasing photogenerated electrons and holes. The S–TiO2 nanoparticles were applied to the hybrid solar cells active layer and the conversion efficiency was increased from 0.62 to 0.97% for pure TiO2 and S–TiO2 solar cells. We used SCAPS 1D for simulation. The photogenerated electrons have a tendency of occupying/recombining with the acceptor defect, that is, hole at the junction.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the facilities provided by the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE), Indian Institute Science (IISc), Bangalore, and Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics (CEN), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, under the Indian Nanoelectronics Users Program. The authors also acknowledge the testing facilities provided by The National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education (NCPRE) at IIT Bombay, under Photovoltaic Users Mentorship Programme (PUMP). SA acknowledges the SERB, New Delhi, for the award of National Postdoctoral Fellowship (N-PDF) to carry out this research work (File No. PDF/2016/000725).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of ECE, Centre for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES), Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vaddeswaram, Andhra Pradesh, 522502, India

    S. Arunmetha & Atul Kumar

  2. Department of ECE, Aditya Engineering College, Surampalem, Andhra Pradesh, 533437, India

    N. R. Dhineshbabu

  3. Centre for Nanoscience and Technology, Anna University, Chennai, 600025, India

    R. Jayavel

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  1. S. Arunmetha
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RJ planned and supervised the research work with necessary study materials; SA, the main author, carried out the experiments and investigations. NRD and AK conceived the methodology and reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and agreed to the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to S. Arunmetha.

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Arunmetha, S., Dhineshbabu, N.R., Kumar, A. et al. Preparation of sulfur doped TiO2 nanoparticles from rutile sand and their performance testing in hybrid solar cells. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 32, 28382–28393 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-07218-1

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