Toulik Maitra

TL;DR: In this article, the authors reported the application of highly textured photon trapping infrared active vanadium sulphide nanowalls sensitized with visible active CdS nanoparticles supported on ultraviolet (UV) active TiO2 nanorods to obtain a wide range of light absorbance throughout the solar spectrum.

TL;DR: In this article, a photoanode comprised of CdS sensitized CoFe2O4@Fe 2O3 hierarchical nanosphere arrays on a FTO glass substrate and its application in photoelectrochemical water splitting was demonstrated.

TL;DR: In this paper, a solution-processed thin-film nickel doped molybdenum oxide counter electrode was proposed as a cheap alternative of platinum counter electrodes for Dye-Sensitized solar cells.

Abstract: Design of composite semiconductor nanostructures with proper band alignment for efficient charge separation and carrier transport has been at the center of research for photoelectrochemical water splitting. This work demonstrates the deposition of a NiFe2O4 @Fe2O3 core-shell nanostructured film sensitized with CdS to form a ternary heterojunction for cascade type electron transfer. The hematite nanostructures were grown by hydrothermal approach through dipping into a solution of Nickel Nitrate yielded anchoring of Ni2+ ions on the outer surface. The films were then annealed at 650 °C for the diffusion of Ni2+ ions into the hematite lattice which forms core-shell NiFe2O4 @Fe2O3 heterojunction. The films were further sensitized with CdS nanoparticles deposited by a hydrothermal approach to form the final ternary heterojunction photoanode. Several different nanostructures were grown and the effect of crystal facet tailoring was observed on Ni loading and photoelectrochemical performance. The photoelectrochemical measurements were carried out using a potentiostat under 100 mW/cm2 light source (150W Xenon Lamp) with Pt counter electrode and 0.5 M Na2S and 0.5 M Na2SO3 electrolyte. A current density of 3.47 mA/cm2 was observed at 1.23 V (vs Ag/AgCl). An Applied Bias to Photocurrent Efficiency (ABPE) of 1.8 % photoconversion efficiency was observed using the fabricated electrodes at 0.288V (vs Ag/AgCl).