Enhanced power conversion efficiency of an n-Si/PEDOT:PSS hybrid solar cell using nanostructured silicon and gold nanoparticles.

Herein, the effect of nanostructured silicon and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of an n-type silicon/poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (n-Si/PEDOT:PSS) hybrid solar cell was investigated. The Si surface modified with different nanostructures including Si nanopyramids (SiNPs), Si nanoholes (SiNHs) and Si nanowires (SiNWs) was utilized to improve light trapping and photo-carrier collection. The highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.15% was obtained with the hybrid solar cell employing SiNWs, which is about 8%, 20% and 40% higher compared to the devices using SiNHs, SiNPs and planar Si, respectively. The enhancement is attributed to the low reflectance of the SiNW structures and large PEDOT:PSS/Si interfacial area. In addition, the influence of AuNPs on the hybrid solar cell's performance was examined. The PCE of the SiNW/PEDOT:PSS hybrid solar cell with 0.5 wt% AuNP is 8.89%, which is ca. 9% higher than that of the device without AuNPs (8.15%). This is attributed to the increase in the electrical conductivity and localized surface plasmon resonance of the AuNP-incorporated PEDOT:PSS coating layer.

Electrochemical Sensor Based on Reduced Graphene Oxide/Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes/Octahedral Fe3O4/Chitosan Composite for Glyphosate Detection.

In this work, reduced graphene oxide/double-walled carbon nanotubes/octahedral-Fe3O4/chitosan composite material modified screen-printed gold electrodes (rGO/DWCNTs/Oct-Fe3O4/Cs/SPAuE) under inhibition of urease enzyme was developed for the determination of glyphosate (GLY). The electrochemical behaviors of GLY on these electrodes were evaluated by square wave voltammetry (SWV). With the electroactive surface area is 1.7 times higher than that of bare SPAuE, the rGO/DWCNTs/Oct-Fe3O4/Cs/SPAuE for detection of GLY shows a low detection limit (LOD) of ~ 0.08 ppb in a large concentration range of 0.1-1000 ppb. Moreover, it is also successfully applied to the determination of GLY in river water samples with recoveries and relative standard deviations (RSDs) from 98.7% to 106.9% and from 0.79% to 0.87%, respectively. The developed composite will probably provide an universal electrochemical sensing platform that is very promising for environmental monitoring.

A novel electrochemical sensor based on double-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene hybrid thin film for arsenic(V) detection.

In this work, we demonstrate the preparation of hybrid thin films based on double-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene for electrochemical sensing applications. The hybrid films were synthesized on polycrystalline copper foil by thermal chemical vapor deposition under low pressure. This carbonaceous hybrid film has exhibited high transparency with a transmittance of 94.3 %. The occurrence of this hybrid material on the electrode surface of screen-printed electrodes was found to increase electroactive surface area by 1.4 times, whereas electrochemical current was enhanced by 2.4 times. Such a highly transparent and conductive hybrid film was utilized as a transducing platform of enzymatic electrochemical arsenic(V) sensor. The as-prepared sensor shows the linear detection of arsenic(V) in the range from 1 to 10 ppb, with a limit of detection as low as 0.287 ppb. These findings provide a promising approach to develop new multifunctional electrochemical sensing systems for environmental monitoring and biomedical diagnostics.