Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-05T05:51:54.924Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Peptide-Mediated Deposition of Nanostructured TiO2 into the Periodic Structure of Diatom Biosilica and its Integration into the Fabrication of a Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Device

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Haiyan Li ,
Clayton Jeffryes ,
Timothy Gutu ,
Jun Jiao  and
Gregory L. Rorrer
Haiyan Li
Affiliation:
haiyanl@pdx.edu, Portland State University, Physics, Portland, Oregon, United States
Clayton Jeffryes
Affiliation:
claytoje@engr.orst.edu, Oregon state University, Department of Chemical Engineering, Corvallis, Oregon, United States
Timothy Gutu
Affiliation:
tgutu@pdx.edu, Portland State University, Physics, Portland, Oregon, United States
Jun Jiao
Affiliation:
jiaoj@pdx.edu, Portland State University, Physics, Portland, Oregon, United States
Gregory L. Rorrer
Affiliation:
rorrergl@engr.orst.edu, Oregon State University, Chemical Engineering, 103 Gleeson Hall, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, United States, 541-737-3370, 541-737-4600
Get access

Abstract

Biological fabrication approaches were used to enhance the performance of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) device stack for the conversion of light to electricity. Diatoms are single-celled algae that make silica shells called frustules that possess periodic structures ordered at the micro- and nanoscale. Nanostructured TiO2 was deposited onto the frustule biosilica of the diatom Pinnularia sp. Poly-L-lysine (PLL) conformally adsorbed onto surface of the frustule biosilica. The hydrolysis and condensation of soluble Ti-BALDH to TiO2 by PLL-adsorbed diatom biosilica deposited 0.77 ± 0.05 g TiO2/g SiO2 onto the diatom biosilica. The periodic pore array of the diatom frustule served as a template for the deposition of ˜20 nm TiO2 nanoparticles, which completely filled the 200 nm frustule pores and also coated the frustule outer surface. This material was then integrated into the DSSC device stack. Specifically, a single layer of diatom-TiO2 frustules was deposited to surface coverage 100μg/cm2 on top of the 25 nm anatase TiO2 nanocrystal layer (2.5 mg/cm2) that was doctor-bladed onto conductive FTO glass. The composite structure was thermally annealed in air at 400 °C, followed by addition of N719 dye, I3-/3I- liquid electrolyte, and semi-transparent Pt back electrode sputter coated on FTO glass. The solar cell efficiency increased from 0.20% to 0.70% when the diatom-TiO2 layer was added to anatase TiO2 base layer of the semi-transparent device. The increase in efficiency cannot be attributed solely to the added TiO2, because the amount of TiO2 in the diatom-TiO2 layer contributed to only 3% of the total TiO2 in the device. Instead, it is proposed that the diatom-TiO2 layer may have helped to improve photon capture within the DSSC because of its periodic structure and high dielectric contrast.

Keywords

biological synthesis (assembly)Tiphotovoltaic
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1189: Symposium MM – Synthesis of Bioinspired Hierarchical Soft and Hybrid Materials , 2009 , 1189-MM02-05
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Bermel, P., Luo, C., Zeng, L., Kimerling, L.C., and Joannopoulos, J., Optics Express 15, 16986–17000 (2007).10.1364/OE.15.016986Google Scholar
2 Chutinan, A., and John, S., Phys. Rev. A 78, 023825 (2008).10.1103/PhysRevA.78.023825Google Scholar
3 Wang, X., Neff, C., Graugnard, E., Ding, Y., King, J.S., Pranger, L.A., Tannenbaum, R., Wang, Z.L., and Summers, C.J., Adv. Mater. 17, 2103–2106 (2005).10.1002/adma.200500546Google Scholar
4 Yamanaka, S., Yano, R., Usami, H., Hayashida, N., Ohguchi, M., Takeda, H., and Yoshino, K., J. Appl. Phys. 103, 074701 (2008).10.1063/1.2903342Google Scholar
5 Noyes, J., Sumper, M., and Vukusic, P., J. Mater. Res. 23, 3229–3235 (2008).10.1557/JMR.2008.0381Google Scholar
6 Grätzel, M.. Inorg. Chem. 44, 66841–6851 (2005).10.1021/ic0508371Google Scholar
7 Halaoui, L.I., Abrams, N.M., and Mallouk, T.E., J. Phys. Chem. B 109, 6334–6342 (2005).10.1021/jp044228aGoogle Scholar
8 Mihi, A., and Miguez, H., J. Phys. Chem. B 109, 15968–15976 (2005).10.1021/jp051828gGoogle Scholar
9 Mihi, A., Calvo, M.E., Anta, J.A., and Miguez, H., Phys. Chem. C 112, 13–17 (2008).10.1021/jp7105633Google Scholar
10 Yip, C.-H., Chiang, Y.-M., and Wong, C.-C., J. Phys. Chem. C 112, 8735–8740 (2008).10.1021/jp801385kGoogle Scholar
11 Colodreo, S., Mihi, A., Anta, J.A., Ocaña, M., and Míguez, H., J. Phys. Chem. C 113, 1150–1154 (2009).10.1021/jp809789sGoogle Scholar
12 Ito, S., Chen, P., Comte, P., Nazeeruddin, M.K., Liska, P., Péchy, P., and Grätzel, M., Prog. Photovoltaics 15, 603–612 (2007).10.1002/pip.768Google Scholar
13 Zhang, Q., Chou, T.P., Russo, B., Jenekhe, S.A., and Cao, G., Adv. Funct. Mater. 18, 1654–1660 (2008).10.1002/adfm.200701073Google Scholar
14 Jeffryes, C., Gutu, T., Jiao, J., and Rorrer, G.L., ACS Nano 2, 2103–2112 (2008).10.1021/nn800470xGoogle Scholar
15 Jeffryes, C., Gutu, T., Jiao, J., and Rorrer, G.L., J. Mater. Res. 23, 3255–3262 (2008).10.1557/JMR.2008.0402Google Scholar
16 Fuhrmann, T., Landwehr, S., Rharbi-Kucki, M. El, and Sumper, M., Appl. Phys. B 78, 257–260 (2004).10.1007/s00340-004-1419-4Google Scholar
17 Tachibana, Y., Akiyama, H.Y., and Kuwabata, S., Sol. Energy Mater. Solar Cell 91, 201–206 (2007).10.1016/j.solmat.2006.09.001Google Scholar