RESUMEN
In this investigation we report the formation of thin ZnO recombination barrier layer at TiO2/CdS interface aimed for the improvement in performance of CdS sensitized solar cell. The film was deposited upon nanocrystalline mesoporous TiO2 surface by following a simple chemical process and characterized, using UV-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and electron dispersive X-ray measurements. The insertion of ZnO thin layer enhances the QDSC (Quantum dot sensitized solar cell) performance, contributed mainly by an increase in open circuit voltage (Voc) due to reduced electron back transfer from TiO2 conduction band. Moreover, the analysis of photovoltaic characteristics upon increasing the thickness of the ZnO film reveals that the ZnO recombination barrier layer with optimum thickness at porous TiO2/CdS interface proved to be an effective potential barrier for minimizing electron back recombination.
RESUMEN
A facile and peculiar synthesis strategy is designed for the fabrication of transparent superhydrophobic surfaces on simple glass substrate. The synthesis methodology comprises of two steps of hydrothermal treatment of cleaned glass substrate with ultrapure water as a solvent followed by coating of 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perflourooctyltriethoxysilane (POTS) also by hydrothermal treatment in hydrothermal reactor. The hydrothermal treatment of glass substrate lead to the nanostructured surface morphology consisting of nanofibers and a blend of nanofibers/nanoflakes. Aforesaid nanostructured surface morphology upon hydrophobic coating resulted in superhydrophobic properties, increasing the water contact angle (WCA) from 92.0° to as high as 145.3°. Moreover, the developed synthesis approach also resulted in the optical transparent superhydrophobic glass substrate thus offering an attractive methodology to employ for self-cleaning applications.