Spin coating immobilisation of C-N-TiO2 Co-Doped nano catalyst on glass and application for photocatalysis or as electron transporting layer for perovskite solar cells

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Date

2020

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Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

MDPI

Abstract

Producingactivethinfilmscoatedonsupportsresolvesmanyissuesofpowder-basedphoto catalysis and energy harvesting. In this study, thin films of C-N-TiO2 were prepared by dynamic spin coating of C-N-TiO2 sol-gel on glass support. The effect of spin speed and sol gel precursor to solvent volume ratio on the film thickness was investigated. The C-N-TiO2-coated glass was annealed at 350◦C at a ramping rate of 10◦C/min with a holding time of 2 hours under a continuous flow of dry N2. The C-N-TiO2 films were characterised by profilometry analysis, light microscopy (LM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The outcomes of this study proved that a spin coating technique followed by an annealing process to stabilise the layer could be used for immobilisation of the photo catalyst on glass. The exposure of C-N-TiO2 films to UV radiation induced photocatalytic decolouration of orange II (O.II) dye. The prepared C-N-TiO2 films showed a reasonable power conversion efficiency average (PCE of 9%) with respect to the reference device (15%). The study offers a feasible route for the engineering of C-N-TiO2 films applicable to wastewater remediation processes and energy harvesting in solar cell technologies.

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Keywords

Thin film, Spin coating, Immobilisation, Film thickness, photocatalytic decolouration

Citation

Mouele, E. S. M. et al. (2020). Spin coating immobilisation of c-n-tio2 co-doped nano catalyst on glass and application for photocatalysis or as electron transporting layer for perovskite solar cells. Coatings 10(11),1029, pp. 1-24