Browsing by Author "Singh, Mriganka"

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A novel ball milling technique for room temperature processing of TiO2 nanoparticles employed as the electron transport layer in perovskite solar cells and modules
(2018-04-28)
Singh, Mriganka
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Chiang, Chien-Hung
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Boopathi, Karunakara Moorthy
;
Hanmandlu, Chintam
;
Li, Gang
Anatase titanium dioxide (an-TiO2) is often used as the electron transporting material (ETM) in planar-heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PSCs) because of its excellent semiconductor characteristics, outstanding optical transmittance, and suitable band structure. Herein, we report an inexpensive method for mass-scale production of TiO2 ETMs at room temperature (RT similar to 30 degrees C), involving the grinding of large clumps of an-TiO2 to form a suspension of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) in isopropyl alcohol for meso-superstructured PSCs. This process does not involve any chemical synthesis; it is a purely physical process. The lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of ground an-TiO2 NPs, estimated using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), was ca. 4.06 eV, which is a salient feature for the active layer. A regular perovskite solar cell (PSC) based on a CH3NH3PbI3 absorber and ground an-TiO2 ETL exhibited a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.43% with an active area of 0.1 cm(2). The same ground an-TiO2 NPs were used to fabricate a large-area (designated area: 25.2 cm(2)) PSC and a PCE of 14.19% was achieved. PSC devices incorporating the ground an-TiO2 NP ETLs exhibited an attractive long-term device stability, with the PCE retaining approximately 85% of the initial values after 80 days.
Facile synthesis of composite tin oxide nanostructures for high-performance planar perovskite solar cells
(2019-06-01)
Singh, Mriganka
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Ng, Annie
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Ren, Zhiwei
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Hu, Hanlin
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Lin, Hong-Cheu
Metal oxide carrier transporting layers have been investigated widely in organic/inorganic lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Tin oxide (SnO2) is a promising alternative to the titanium dioxide commonly used in the electron transporting layer (ETL), due to its tunable carrier concentration, high electron mobility, amenability to low-temperature annealing processing, and large energy bandgap. In this study, a facile method was developed for the preparation of a room-temperature-processed SnO2 electron transporting material that provided a high-quality ETL, leading to PSCs displaying high power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability. A novel physical ball milling method was first employed to prepare chemically pure ground SnO2 nanoparticles (G-SnO2), and a sol-gel process was used to prepare a compact SnO2 (C-SnO2) layer. The effects of various types of ETLs (C-SnO2, G-SnO2, composite G-SnO2/C-SnO2) on the performance of the PSCs are investigated. The composite SnO2 nanostructure formed a robust ETL having efficient carrier transport properties; accordingly, carrier recombination between the ETL and mixed perovskite was inhibited. PSCs incorporating C-SnO2, G-SnO2, and GSnO(2)/C-SnO2 as ETLs provided PCEs of 16.46, 17.92, and 21.09%, respectively. In addition to their high efficiency, the devices featuring the composite SnO2 (G-SnO2/C-SnO2) nanostructures possessed excellent long-term stability-they maintained 89% (with encapsulation) and 83% (without encapsulation) of their initial PCEs after 105 days ( > 2500 h) and 60 days ( > 1400 h), respectively, when stored under dry ambient air (20 +/- 5 RH %).
Mitigating Metal Dendrite Formation in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries via Morphology-Tunable Graphene Oxide Interfaces
(2019-01-16)
Chen, Yu-Ting
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Abbas, Syed Ali
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Kaisar, Nahid
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Wu, Sheng Hui
;
Chen, Hsin-An
Despite issues related to dendrite formation, research on Li metal anodes has resurged because of their high energy density. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) layers are decorated onto Li metal anodes through a simple process of drop-casting and spray-coating. The self-assembly of GO is exploited to synthesize coatings having compact, mesoporous, and macroporous morphologies. The abilities of the GO coatings to suppress dendrite formation are compared through Li vertical bar Li symmetrical cell charging at a current density of 5 mA cm(-2) for 2000 cycles-a particularly abusive test. The macroporous structure possesses the lowest impedance, whereas the compact structure excels in terms of stability. Moreover, GO exhibits a low nucleation overpotential and is transformed into reduced GO with enhanced conductivity during the operation of the cells; both factors synergistically mitigate the issue of dendrite formation. Li-S batteries incorporating the GO-decorated Li anodes exhibit an initial capacity of 850 mA h g(-1) and maintain their stability for 800 cycles at a C-rate of 1 C (1675 mA h g(-1)), suggesting the applicability of GO in future rechargeable batteries.
Stimuli-responsive polymer as gate dielectric for organic transistor sensors
(2020-10-01)
Rullyani, Cut
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Singh, Mriganka
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Li, Sheng-Han
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Sung, Chao-Feng
;
Lin, Hong-Cheu
Temperature is a characteristic often correlated with environmental and health issues. This paper presents an organic thin film transistor (OTFT) based temperature sensor having a detection range of 30-45 degrees C, which, therefore, encompasses the human body temperature. The OTFT sensor featured thermosensitive poly(N-iso-propylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and pentacene as the gate dielectric and semiconductor, respectively. The PNIPAM film possessed a dielectric constant of 4.2 with very low leakage current density. The OTFT exhibited high electrical performance, with a hole mobility (mu) of 0.90 +/- 0.04 cm(2) V-1 s(-1), a threshold voltage (V-th) of -15.4 +/- 1.16 V, and an on/off ratio of 10(4). Significant changes in the drain current and the values of V-th and mu occurred when the temperature of the device was varied within the range 30-45 degrees C at an interval of 0.5 degrees C. The operating principle for this temperature sensor was based on the structural transformation of the PNIPAM dielectric and the enhanced charge transport of the pentacene semiconductor upon varying the temperature. Flexible OTFTs fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate substrate displayed hole mobilities as high as 0.39 +/- 0.01 cm(2) V-1 s(-1), values of V-th of 18.6 +/- 0.45, and on/off ratios of 10(2), and were workable for over 100 bending cycles.