• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1047-1048
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• 2000

Dye-sensitized nanocrystalline rutile $TiO_2$ solar cells were prepared, and the influence of Li+ and 1,2-dimethyl-3-hexyl imidazolium ions in the electrolyte on the photovoltaic properties was compared. The electrolyte con-taining Li+ ions produced a lower open-circuit photovoltage than the electrolyte with 1,2-dimethyl-3-hexyl im-idazolium ions, suggesting that the adsorption of Li+ ions to the rutile $TiO_2$ surface causes a shift in the band edges toward more positive potentials. At the same time, both the short-circuit photocurrent and the maximum value of the incident-photon-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of the electrolyte containing Li+ ions were relatively higher. Data analysis suggests that presence of adsorbed Li+ ions improves via the phenomenon of band-edge movement the charge-injection efficiency by altering both the energy and number of excited state levels of the dye that participate in electron injection.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1738-1742
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• 2009

Nanocrystalline Zn$Fe_2O_4$ oxide-semiconductor with spinel structure was synthesized by the polymerized complex (PC) method and investigated for its photocatalytic and photoelectric properties. The observation of a highly pure phase and a lower crystallization temperature in Zn$Fe_2O_4$ made by PC method is in total contrast to that was observed in Zn$Fe_2O_4$ prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction (SSR) method. The band gap of the nanocrystalline Zn$Fe_2O_4$ determined by UV-DRS was 1.90 eV (653 nm). The photocatalytic activity of Zn$Fe_2O_4$ prepared by PC method as investigated by the photo-decomposition of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) under visible light (${\geq}$ 420 nm) was much higher than that of the Zn$Fe_2O_4$ prepared by SSR as well as Ti$O_{2-x}N_x$. High photocatalytic activity of Zn$Fe_2O_4$ prepared by PC method was mainly due to its surface area, crystallinity and the dispersity of platinum metal over Zn$Fe_2O_4$.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.147-149
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• 2005

Synthesis of $TiO_2$ nanoparticle paste is one of the important technologies in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). Performances of the DSSCs from synthesized $TiO_2$ nanoparticle paste was similar or better than those from commercial sources. In addition. cell efficiency was further improved by using large scattering $TiO_2$ particles. Those results was utilized in manufacturing high efficiency DSSC modules.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.147-149
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• 2009

가수분해 및 응축반응을 사용하여 다공성의 TiO2입자를 합성하였다. 다공성 구조의 열적 영향을 살펴보기위해 annealing 시간을 조절하였고 태양전지에 적용하기 위해 paste로 만들었다. 그 구조적 특성을TEM(Transmission electron microscopy)과 XRD(X-ray diffraction) 통하여 분석하였고 광 전기화학적 활성을 측정해 보았다. 결과적으로 3시간 열처리한 시료의 효율이 최적화된 조건이였음을 확인하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.75-75
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• 2011

Recently, dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) attracts great attention as a promising alternative to conventional silicon solar cells. One of the key components for the DSSC would be the nanocrystalline TiO2 electrode, and the control of interface between TiO2 and TCO is a highly important issue in improving the photovoltaic conversion efficiency. In this work, we applied various interfacial layers, and analyzed their effect in enhancing photovoltaic properties. In overall, introduction of interfacial layers increased both the Voc and Jsc, since the back-reaction of electrons from TCO to electrolyte could be blocked. First, several metal oxides with different band gaps and positions were employed as interfacial layer. SnO2, TiO2, and ZrO2 nanoparticles in the size of 3-5 nm have been synthesized. Among them, the interfacial layer of SnO2, which has lower flat-band potential than that of TiO2, exhibited the best performance in increasing the photovoltaic efficiency of DSSC. Second, long-range ordered cubic mesoporous TiO2 films, prepared by using triblock copolymer-templated sol-gel method via evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) process, were utilized as an interfacial layer. Mesoporous TiO2 films seem to be one of the best interfacial layers, due to their additional effect, improving the adhesion to TCO and showing an anti-reflective effect. Third, we handled the issues related to the optimum thickness of interfacial layers. It was also found that in fabricating DSSC at low temperature, the role of interfacial layer turned out to be a lot more important. The self-assembled interfacial layer fabricated at room temperature leads to the efficient transport of photo-injected electrons from TiO2 to TCO, as well as blocking the back-reaction from TCO to I3-. As a result, fill factor (FF) was remarkably increased, as well as increase in Voc and Jsc.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.159-168
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• 2005

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) have been under investigation for the past decade due to their attractive features such as high energy conversion efficiency and low production costs. The basis for energy conversion is the injection of electrons from a photoexcited state of a dye sensitizer into the conduction band of the nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ semiconductor upon absorption of light. It is believed that the DSC is one of the most promising candidates for renewable energy sources. In this review, the development trends and perspectives of DSCs are investigated.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.68-75
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• 2011

In this review, we have investigated the effect of $TiO_2$-based blocking layers (t-BLs), deposited on a transparent conductive oxide (TCO)-coated glass substrate, on the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The t-BL was deposited using spin-coating or sputtering technique, and its thicknesses were varied to study the influence of the thin $TiO_2$ layer in between transparent conducting glass and nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ (nc-$TiO_2$). The DSSC with the t-BL showed the improved adhesion and the suppressed charge recombination at a TCO glass substrate than those without the t-BL, which led to the higher conversion efficiency.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.439-443
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• 2005

The oxidation behavior and the thermal stability of nanocrystalline Al-25Ti-8Mn intermetallic compound were investigated. $Al_3Ti$ intermetallic compound, which has a potential for high temperature structural material, was fabricated by mechanical alloying(MA) with $8at.\%$ Mn to enhance the thermal stability and ductility. And Al-25Ti-8Mn intermetallic compound was sintered by spark plasma sintering(SPS) at $700^{\circ}C$. After sintering process, cubic $Ll_2$ structure was maintained without phase transformation and the grain size was about 50nm. To investigate the oxidation behavior of the specimens, thermal gravimetric analysis(TGA) was performed at 700, 800, 900, and $1000^{\circ}C$ for 24 h in $O_2$. As the temperature increased from $700^{\circ}C\;to\;900^{\circ}C$ the weight gain of specimens increased. However at $1000^{\circ}C$, unlike the oxidation behavior of $700^{\circ}C\;to\;900^{\circ}C$, the weight gain of specimen decreased drastically and the transition from linear rate region to parabolic rate region occurred rapidly due to the dense $\alpha-Al_2O_3$.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.754-758
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• 2010

In general, Dye-sensitized Solar Cells(DSCs) consist of the nanocrystalline titanium dioxide($TiO_2$) layer which is fabricated on a transparent conductive oxide(TCO) layer such as $F/SnO_2$ glass, a dye adhered to the $TiO_2$, an electrolyte solution and platinum-coated TCO. Among these components, two TCO substrates are estimated to be about 60% of the total cost of the DSCs. Currently novel TCO-less structures have been investigated in order to reduce the cost. In this study, TCO-less DSCs consisting of titanium electrodes were investigated. The titanium electrode is deposited on top of the porous $TiO_2$ layer using electron-beam evaporation process. The porosity of the titanium electrode was found out by the SEM analysis and dye adhesion. As a result, when the thickness of the titanium electrode increased, the surface resistance decreased and the conversion efficiency increased relatively.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.925-928
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• 2014

A dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) was fabricated with a nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ film electrode on FTO glass, N719 dye, electrolytes (or $CsSnI_3$), and counter Pt electrode by incorporating it with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). SWNTs were combined with $TiO_2$ film, $CsSnI_3$, Pt electrode, separately, and the SWNT-containing cell was compared with a pristine cell in cell performance. We also examined the performance change by pressing $TiO_2$ film, during cell fabrication, inside a high pressure chamber. Mostly, the change of conversion efficiency was compared for each cell, and an atomic force microscopy data were suggested to explain our results.