Lucky I Ikhioya

Bio: Lucky I Ikhioya is an academic researcher from University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The author has contributed to research in topics: Physics & Crystallite. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 4 citations.

Influence of dopant concentration on the electronic band gap energy of Yb-ZrSe2 thin films for photovoltaic application via electrochemical deposition technique

Abstract: This research focus on the Influence of Dopant Concentration on Polycrystalline Ytterbium-doped ZrSe (Yb-ZrSe) material for possible photovoltaic application using the electrochemical deposition method. The cationic precursor was an aqueous solution of 0.01 mol ZrOCl2.8H2O while the anionic precursor was 0.15 mol selenium was prepared by dissolving with 5 ml of Hydrochloric acid (HCl), and then 0.05 mol Yb (NO3)3.5H2O was used as the dopant. The films were characterized using UV-1800 Visible Spectrophotometer, Bruker D8 Advance x-ray diffractometer with Cu Kα line (λ = 1.54056 A) in 2θ range from 10°–90°and Scanning Electron Microscopy. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the deposited films on FTO substrate studies reveals that films are polycrystalline by exhibiting diffraction peaks at (111), (200), (200) and (210) corresponds to the following angle (27.00°), (38.01°), (46.02°), (66.02°). (SEM) revealed that the grain size was uniformly distributed on the surface of the substrate. The optical band gap energy was obtained.

Binder-free fabricated CuFeS2 electrodes for supercapacitor applications

Abstract: Copper iron sulfide (CFS) (chalcopyrite) thin-film electrodes have been synthesized for energy storage applications using the SILAR method without the use of a binder. The film’s structural as well as the morphological and electrochemical characteristics were studied to check the effect of varying deposition cycles. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) test reveals a crystalline tetragonal CuFeS2 (chalcopyrite) with a decreasing peak as the deposition cycle progresses. The micrographs of the films reveal a spherical but fleecy-like shape with particle aggregation at higher deposition cycles. The bandgap increased slightly towards higher cycles and is in the range of 1.15 to 1.22 eV. The CFS electrodes were evaluated in a three-electrode arrangement for supercapacitive application in a 2.0 M KOH electrolyte. The CFS electrodes function admirably. The greatest specific capacitance recorded was 537 F g−1 at 10 mV s−1 with capacitance retention of 93.5%. This is for CFS electrode deposited at 10 cycles; hence it has the greatest performance. This paper describes a simple, inexpensive, and repeatable method for fabricating electrodes for supercapacitors.

Influence of ytterbium (Yb) dopant on the optical properties of electrochemically deposited zinc oxide (ZnO) films

Abstract: Undoped and ytterbium-doped ZnO films were synthesized on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive substrates using zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn(NO3).6H2O), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), ytterbium nitrate penta-hydride (Yb (NO3)3.5H2O) as sources of Zn2+, O2− and Yb2+ ions respectively through electrodeposition method. The structure, elemental composition, and optical features were determined via x-ray diffractometry (XRD), Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), UV–visible spectrophotometry (UV–vis), four-point probe technique, and scanning electron microscopy respectively. The impact of Yb on ZnO crystallographic, elemental, optical, and energy band gap features of the ZnO materials have been studied. Structural results revealed polycrystalline films while the EDX spectrum affirms the presence of the basic elemental composition of deposits. The optical result showed high absorbance feature and decreased energy band gaps of zinc oxide films after introducing ytterbium as dopant. The energy band gap value observed for the undoped zinc oxide film which was 3.05 eV recorded a decreased range from 2.79 eV to 2.64 eV upon doping. The films exhibited increasing resistivity with thickness and granular nanocrystals distributed over the substrate surface. The low transmitting property and decreased energy band gaps of the Yb-doped ZnO films make it useful materials for solar thermal energy collectors and photovoltaic applications.

Iron-Intercalated Zirconium Diselenide Thin Films from the Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition of [Fe(η5-C5H4Se)2Zr(η5-C5H5)2]2.

Abstract: Transition metal chalcogenide thin films of the type FexZrSe2 have applications in electronic devices, but their use is limited by current synthetic techniques Here, we demonstrate the synthesis a