Abstract
Different rare-earth (RE) metal-oxides nano-particles (NPs) viz. Samarium (III) oxide (Sm2O3), Neodymium (III) oxide (Nd2O3), and Gadolinium (III) oxide (Gd2O3) were synthesized using co-precipitation route, and investigated by structural, optical, and morphological studies. Findings and supporting studies were presented to understand the role of RE-metal-oxides NPs as photo-anode material for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) applications. Structural analysis of prepared RE-metaloxides, by X-ray diffraction (XRD), reveals the crystalline nature of the particles ranging from 24 to 37 nm. Morphological study by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) supports the crystalline nature in the nano range of the prepared RE-metal oxides particles. The observed d values of each sample support the growth of Gd2O3, Nd2O3, and Sm2O3 material. The band-gap of prepared material was estimated from the UV–VIS absorption data and Tauc relation. The observed band gap values are 3.55 eV, 3.31 eV, and 3.52 eV for Gd2O3, Nd2O3, and Sm2O3 respectively. These values are reasonably high compare to the bulk values, indicates the nanostructure formation. Optimized RE-metal oxides NPs employed in the form of TiO2 photo anode for the fabrication of DSSCs. FESEM confirms that the Gd2O3-based photo-anode shows more uniform and decent coverage with more porosity on the TiO2. The EIS measurements of prepared DSSCs also supported the improvement in the photovoltaic output for the modified photo-anode devices as cells with modified photo-anode exhibited less charge recombination at the photo-anode/dye/electrolyte interface with increased electron lifetime leading to improved device performance as compared to the unmodified-based DSSCs. The highest efficiency 5.51% was demonstrated by \({\mathrm{Gd}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}\)/\({\mathrm{TiO}}_{2}\) photo-anode-based DSSCs compare to Sm2O3, and Nd2O3 activated photo-anode.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the Department of Science & Technology, SERB Division, Govt. of India, for providing experimental facilities developed under the sanctioned project (Award # SR/FTP/PS-112/2012 Dated 1.11.2013) and Material Science lab developed at GWEC, Ajmer under TEQIP-II. The authors are also grateful to the “Banasthali Centre for Research and Education in Basic Sciences” under CURIE programme supported by the DST, Govt. of India, for providing the experimental measurements.
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All authors contributed to the study, conception and design. The work plan was designed by Shyam Sunder Sharma. Materials preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Khushboo Sharma, Jyoti Sahu, Jaymin Ray, and Saral Gupta. The first draft of the manuscript was co-written by Khushboo Sharma, Shyam Sunder Sharma, Saurabh Dalela, and Jaymin Ray commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript, finally developed the concept.
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Sharma, S.S., Sharma, K., Sahu, J. et al. Role of rare-earth oxides, conjugated with \({\mathrm{TiO}}_{2}\), in the enhancement of power conversion efficiency of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 98760–98772 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25346-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25346-5