As the demand for energy is rapidly growing worldwide ahead of energy supply, there is an impulse need to develop alternative energy-harvesting technologies to sustain economic growth. Due to their unique optical and electrical properties, one-dimensional (1D) electrospun nanostructured materials are attractive for the construction of active energy harvesting devices such as photovoltaics, photocatalysts, hydrogen energy generators, and fuel cells. 1D nanostructures produced from electrospinning possess high chemical reactivity, high surface area, low density, as well as improved light absorption and dye adsorption compared to their bulk counterparts. So, research has been focused on the synthesis of 1D nanostructured fibers made from metal oxides, composites, dopants and surface modification. Furthermore, fine tuning these NFs has facilitated fast charge transfer and efficient charge separation for improved light absorption in photocatalytic and photovoltaic properties. The recent trend in exploring these electrospun nanostructures has been promising in-terms of reducing costs and enhancing the efficiency compared to conventional materials. This review article presents the synthesis of 1D nanostructured fibers made via electrospinning and their applications in photovoltaics, photocatalysis, hydrogen energy harvesting and fuel cells. The current challenges and future perspectives for electrospun nanomaterials are also reviewed.

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Hierarchical electrospun nanofibers for energy harvesting, production and environmental remediation

Electrospinning: A versatile technique for making of 1D growth of nanostructured nanofibers and its applications: an experimental approach

Kinetic study of brilliant green adsorption from aqueous solution onto white rice husk ash

Present investigation explores the possible reusability of synthetically contaminated wastewater containing crystal violet (CV) organic dye using Tectona grandis sawdust (TGSD) waste as a very low-cost adsorbent. The adsorbent was characterized by proximate, SEM/EDX, FTIR, and XRD analyses. Batch adsorption studies were carried under changing conditions of contact time, the initial concentration of CV, pH, TGSD dose, TGSD particle size, and temperature. The experimental data were tested using Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models, and the data were best followed by Langmuir one. The kinetic results were examined in the light of different models and pseudo-second-order was obtained to be best obeyed. The values of ΔH° (28.642 kJ/mol), ΔG° (-10.776 to -7.080 kJ/mol) and ΔS° (121.8 J/K/mol) in the temperature range of 293–323 K suggested the overall process to be spontaneous, endothermic and associated with an increase in randomness. On the basis of experimental results and their analyses, it has been established that TGSD is one of the most effective adsorbents among those obtained from the domestic, agricultural and industrial wastes. Thus this adsorbent can be effectively utilized to make the impure wastewater reusable.

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Exploring the Reusability of Synthetically Contaminated Wastewater Containing Crystal Violet Dye using Tectona grandis Sawdust as a Very Low-Cost Adsorbent

With global concerns about the shortage of fossil fuels and environmental issues, the development of efficient and clean energy storage devices has been drastically accelerated. Nanofibers are used widely for energy storage devices due to their high surface areas and porosities. Electrospinning is a versatile and efficient fabrication method for nanofibers. In this review, we mainly focus on the application of electrospun nanofibers on energy storage, such as lithium batteries, fuel cells, dye-sensitized solar cells and supercapacitors. The structure and properties of nanofibers are also summarized systematically. The special morphology of nanofibers prepared by electrospinning is significant to the functional materials for energy storage.

Electrospinning of Nanofibers for Energy Applications.

A biosorbent was developed by simple dried Agaricus bisporus (SDAB) and effectively used for the biosorption of cationic dyes, Crystal Violet and Brilliant Green. For the evaluation of the biosorbent system, all the batch equilibrium parameters like pH, biomass dose, contact time, and temperature were optimized to determine the decolorization efficiency of the biosorbent. The maximum yields of dye removal were achieved at pH 4.0 for Crystal Violet (CV) and pH 5.0 for Brilliant Green (BG), which are closer to their natural pH also. Equilibrium was established at 60 and 40 min for CV and BG, respectively. Pseudo first-order, pseudo second-order, and intraparticle-diffusion kinetic models were studied at different temperatures. Isotherm models such as Freundlich, Langmuir, and Dubinin–Radushkevich were also studied. Biosorption processes were successfully described by Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo second-order kinetic model. The biosorption capacity of A. bisporus over CV and BG were found as 21.74 and 12.16 mg gm−1. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that the CV and BG dye adsorption onto A. bisporus is spontaneous and exothermic in the single and ternary systems. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used for the surface morphology, crystalline structure of biosorbent, and dye–biosorbent interaction, respectively. This analysis of the biosorption data confirmed that these biosorption processes are ecofriendly and economical. Thus, this biomass system may be useful for the removal of contaminating cationic dyes.

Evaluation of the individuality of white rot macro fungus for the decolorization of synthetic dye

Photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells fabricated with polyvinylidene fluoride–polyacrylonitrile–silicondioxide hybrid composite membrane

Poly(vinylidene fluoride)-polyacrylonitrile-based membranes containing Fe2O3 nanoparticles were prepared by electrospinning technique and characterized by HR-SEM, FTIR, and XRD analysis. The effect of electrolyte in the electrospun nanofibers on electrolyte uptake, ionic conductivity and porosity were studied. The electrospun membranes containing Fe2O3 showed an enhanced ionic conductivity than that of without Fe2O3. Among the prepared membranes, the membrane with 7 wt % Fe2O3 has the highest liquid electrolyte uptake of 562% and ionic conductivity of 6.81 × 10−2 S cm−1. The photovoltaic performance for open circuit voltage (Voc), Short-circuit current density (Jsc), Fill factor (FF), and η of the DSSC fabricated with 7 wt % Fe2O3 are 0.77 V, 10.4 mA/cm2, 0.62 and 4.9%, respectively. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 41107.

Evaluation of photovoltaic efficiency of dye‐sensitized solar cells fabricated with electrospun PVDF‐PAN‐Fe2O3 composite membrane

Dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has been magnetizing more awareness in current research due to more efficiency. The foremost drawback of the solar cell is the evaporation of organic electrolyte. In order to address this problem, the polyvinylidene fluoride–polyacrylonitrile–Electrospinning Fibrous Membranes were prepared by electrospinning method and the photovoltaic performances were evaluated. The polyvinylidene fluoride and polyacrylonitrile were mixed in N,N′-dimethylformamide and acetone at an applied potential of 15 kV. The surface morphology of membrane is interconnected with network structure and a large number of voids were observed from Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy images. The electrolyte uptakes up to 310% were observed and it shows an increase in the ionic conductivity up to 6.12 × 10−2 S cm−1 at 25°C. The fabricated DSSCs show open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.74 V, fill factor (FF) of 0.65 and short circuit current (Jsc) of 6.20 mA cm−2 at an incident light intensity of 100 mW cm−2. The photovoltaic efficiency also reached up to 3.09%. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2014, 131, 40022.

Priyanka Pandey

Papers

Evaluation of the individuality of white rot macro fungus for the decolorization of synthetic dye

Photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells fabricated with polyvinylidene fluoride–polyacrylonitrile–silicondioxide hybrid composite membrane

Evaluation of photovoltaic efficiency of dye‐sensitized solar cells fabricated with electrospun PVDF‐PAN‐Fe2O3 composite membrane

Development of quasi‐solid‐state dye‐sensitized solar cell based on an electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride–polyacrylonitrile membrane electrolyte