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Advanced Functional Materials Used for Solar Energy Conversion and Photocatalysis
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Advanced Functional Materials Used for Solar Energy Conversion and Photocatalysis

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 8760

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hyeonseok Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Photonics, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung City 804, Taiwan
Interests: solar energy conversion; thin films; nanostructure; photocatalysts; solar cells
Dr. Shien Ping Feng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Advanced Design and Systems Engineering, City University of Hong Kong (CityU), 83 Tat Chee Ave, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
Interests: electrochemistry; interface engineering; energy conversion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy demand and environmental issues related to CO2 emission have urged scientists and governments to seek other renewable and clean energy sources that do not involve fossil fuels. One of the most promising alternative energy sources is solar energy because it is clean, renewable, and abundant. Using solar energy conversion mediums such as solar cells and photocatalytic systems is a well-known route to utilizing solar energy. However, such mediums for the utilization of solar energy can be quite challenging because there are a lot of hurdles to efficient solar energy conversion. Popular strategies for overcoming these issues are extremely dependent on the materials used for solar cells and photocatalytic systems. In this context, explorations on promising materials, novel structures, characterization, and fabrication techniques would be of great interest for scientists and engineers in the field of energy conversion.

In this Special Issue entitled “Advanced Functional Materials Used for Solar Energy Conversion and Photocatalysis”, we invite ideas or strategies for various and novel materials, structures, fabrications, and characterizations for efficient solar energy conversion by solar cells and photocatalysts. We cordially invite authors to contribute review or research articles to our Special Issue.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Hyeonseok Lee
Dr. Shien Ping Feng
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • photocatalysts
  • nanostructure
  • solar energy conversion
  • CO2 conversion
  • solar cells
  • nanoparticles
  • characterization
  • organic materials
  • inorganic materials
  • metal materials

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 9572 KiB  
Article
Nd-Doped ZnO Nanostructures with Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance for Environmental Protection
by Petronela Pascariu, Corneliu Cojocaru, Petrisor Samoila and Cosmin Romanitan
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(7), 6436; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24076436 - 29 Mar 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1378
Abstract
Neodymium (Nd)-doped ZnO nanostructures with different amounts of Nd were obtained by the electrospinning–calcination method. X-ray diffraction measurements indicated that the prepared nanostructures have a wurtzite structure without undesirable impurities. Nd doping changes the mean crystallite size as well the lattice strain, as [...] Read more.
Neodymium (Nd)-doped ZnO nanostructures with different amounts of Nd were obtained by the electrospinning–calcination method. X-ray diffraction measurements indicated that the prepared nanostructures have a wurtzite structure without undesirable impurities. Nd doping changes the mean crystallite size as well the lattice strain, as proved by Williamson–Hall plots. The ZnO-based nanostructures were tested as photocatalysts for methylene blue (MB) dye and ciprofloxacin (CIP) drug pollutant degradations under visible light irradiation. Corroborating the obtained results, it was found that the reaction rate constant increased almost linearly with the mean crystallite size (from 2.235 × 10−2 to 3.482 × 10−2 min−1) with a variation in the mean crystallite size from 24.2 to 42.1 nm. Furthermore, the best catalyst sample (0.1% Nd-doped ZnO) was used to optimize the photodegradation process of ciprofloxacin, taking into account the pollutant concentration as well as the catalyst dose. The removal efficiency after 120 min was about 100%, with the rate constant of k = 5.291·10−2 min−1 (CIP) and k = 4.780·10−2 min−1 (MB) for the established optimal conditions. Considering the value of the rate constant, the half-life of the reaction (τ1/2 = ln2/k) was evaluated to be about τ1/2 =13 min for CIP and 14.5 min corresponding to MB. Several catalytic cycles were successfully performed without any loss of photocatalytic activity using these nanostructures, demonstrating that the obtained nanostructures have good stability in the leaching processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Materials Used for Solar Energy Conversion and Photocatalysis)
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12 pages, 1687 KiB  
Communication
The Impact of Backbone Fluorination and Side-Chain Position in Thiophene-Benzothiadiazole-Based Hole-Transport Materials on the Performance and Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells
by Marina M. Tepliakova, Ilya E. Kuznetsov, Aleksandra N. Mikheeva, Maxim E. Sideltsev, Artyom V. Novikov, Aleksandra D. Furasova, Roman R. Kapaev, Alexey A. Piryazev, Artur T. Kapasharov, Tatiana A. Pugacheva, Sergei V. Makarov, Keith J. Stevenson and Alexander V. Akkuratov
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(21), 13375; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232113375 - 02 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1706
Abstract
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) currently reach high efficiencies, while their insufficient stability remains an obstacle to their technological commercialization. The introduction of hole-transport materials (HTMs) into the device structure is a key approach for enhancing the efficiency and stability of devices. However, currently, [...] Read more.
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) currently reach high efficiencies, while their insufficient stability remains an obstacle to their technological commercialization. The introduction of hole-transport materials (HTMs) into the device structure is a key approach for enhancing the efficiency and stability of devices. However, currently, the influence of the HTM structure or properties on the characteristics and operational stability of PSCs remains insufficiently studied. Herein, we present four novel push-pull small molecules, H1-4, with alternating thiophene and benzothiadiazole or fluorine-loaded benzothiadiazole units, which contain branched and linear alkyl chains in the different positions of terminal thiophenes to evaluate the impact of HTM structure on PSC performance. It is demonstrated that minor changes in the structure of HTMs significantly influence their behavior in thin films. In particular, H3 organizes into highly ordered lamellar structures in thin films, which proves to be crucial in boosting the efficiency and stability of PSCs. The presented results shed light on the crucial role of the HTM structure and the morphology of films in the performance of PSCs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Materials Used for Solar Energy Conversion and Photocatalysis)
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14 pages, 4283 KiB  
Article
Nb/N Co-Doped Layered Perovskite Sr2TiO4: Preparation and Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation Tetracycline under Visible Light
by Jiansheng Wang, Pengwei Li, Yingna Zhao and Xiongfeng Zeng
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(18), 10927; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231810927 - 18 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1310
Abstract
Sr2TiO4 is a promising photocatalyst for antibiotic degradation in wastewater. The photocatalytic performance of pristine Sr2TiO4 is limited to its wide bandgap, especially under visible light. Doping is an effective strategy to enhance photocatalytic performance. In this [...] Read more.
Sr2TiO4 is a promising photocatalyst for antibiotic degradation in wastewater. The photocatalytic performance of pristine Sr2TiO4 is limited to its wide bandgap, especially under visible light. Doping is an effective strategy to enhance photocatalytic performance. In this work, Nb/N co-doped layered perovskite Sr2TiO4 (Sr2TiO4:N,Nb) with varying percentages (0–5 at%) of Nb were synthesized by sol-gel and calcination. Nb/N co-doping slightly expanded the unit cell of Sr2TiO4. Their photocatalytic performance towards antibiotic (tetracycline) was studied under visible light (λ > 420 nm). When Nb/(Nb + Ti) was 2 at%, Sr2TiO4:N,Nb(2%) shows optimal photocatalytic performance with the 99% degradation after 60 min visible light irradiation, which is higher than pristine Sr2TiO4 (40%). The enhancement in photocatalytic performance is attributed to improving light absorption, and photo-generated charges separation derived from Nb/N co-doping. Sr2TiO4:N,Nb(2%) shows good stability after five cycles photocatalytic degradation reaction. The capture experiments confirm that superoxide radical is the leading active species during the photocatalytic degradation process. Therefore, the Nb/N co-doping in this work could be used as an efficient strategy for perovskite-type semiconductor to realize visible light driving for wastewater treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Materials Used for Solar Energy Conversion and Photocatalysis)
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10 pages, 2765 KiB  
Article
Asymmetric Non-Fullerene Small Molecule Acceptor with Unidirectional Non-Fused π-Bridge and Extended Terminal Group for High-Efficiency Organic Solar Cells
by Kun Wang, Qing Guo, Zengkun Nie, Huiyan Wang, Jingshun Gao, Jianqi Zhang, Linfeng Yu, Xia Guo and Maojie Zhang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(17), 10079; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231710079 - 03 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1613
Abstract
We designed and synthesized an asymmetric non-fullerene small molecule acceptor (NF-SMA) IDT-TNIC with an A–D–π–A structure, based on an indacenodithiophene (IDT) central core, with a unidirectional non-fused alkylthio-thiophene (T) π-bridge, and 2-(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-cyclopenta[b]naphthalen-1-ylidene)malononitrile (NIC) extended terminal groups. IDT-TNIC molecules still maintain a good coplanar [...] Read more.
We designed and synthesized an asymmetric non-fullerene small molecule acceptor (NF-SMA) IDT-TNIC with an A–D–π–A structure, based on an indacenodithiophene (IDT) central core, with a unidirectional non-fused alkylthio-thiophene (T) π-bridge, and 2-(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-cyclopenta[b]naphthalen-1-ylidene)malononitrile (NIC) extended terminal groups. IDT-TNIC molecules still maintain a good coplanar structure, which benefits from the non-covalent conformational locks (NCL) between O···S and S···S. The asymmetric structure increases the molecular dipole moment, and the extended terminal group broadens the absorption of the material, resulting in an excellent photovoltaic performance of IDT-TNIC. The photovoltaic device, based on PBDB-T:IDT-TNIC, exhibits an energetic PCE of 11.32% with a high Voc of 0.87 V, high Jsc of 19.85 mA cm−2, and a low energy loss of 0.57 eV. More importantly, IDT-TNICs with asymmetric structures show a superior property compared to symmetric IDT-Ns. The results demonstrate that it is an effectual strategy to enhance the properties of asymmetric A–D–π–A-based NF-SMAs with non-fused NCL π-bridges and extended terminal groups. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Materials Used for Solar Energy Conversion and Photocatalysis)
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Review

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23 pages, 1765 KiB  
Review
Photocatalytic Carbon Dioxide Conversion by Structurally and Materially Modified Titanium Dioxide Nanostructures
by Tarek Fawzi, Sanju Rani, Somnath C. Roy and Hyeonseok Lee
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(15), 8143; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23158143 - 24 Jul 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2029
Abstract
TiO2 has aroused considerable attentions as a promising photocatalytic material for decades due to its superior material properties in several fields such as energy and environment. However, the main dilemmas are its wide bandgap (3–3.2 eV), that restricts the light absorption in [...] Read more.
TiO2 has aroused considerable attentions as a promising photocatalytic material for decades due to its superior material properties in several fields such as energy and environment. However, the main dilemmas are its wide bandgap (3–3.2 eV), that restricts the light absorption in limited light wavelength region, and the comparatively high charge carrier recombination rate of TiO2, is a hurdle for efficient photocatalytic CO2 conversion. To tackle these problems, lots of researches have been implemented relating to structural and material modification to improve their material, optical, and electrical properties for more efficient photocatalytic CO2 conversion. Recent studies illustrate that crystal facet engineering could broaden the performance of the photocatalysts. As same as for nanostructures which have advantages such as improved light absorption, high surface area, directional charge transport, and efficient charge separation. Moreover, strategies such as doping, junction formation, and hydrogenation have resulted in a promoted photocatalytic performance. Such strategies can markedly change the electronic structure that lies behind the enhancement of the solar spectrum harnessing. In this review, we summarize the works that have been carried out for the enhancement of photocatalytic CO2 conversion by material and structural modification of TiO2 and TiO2-based photocatalytic system. Moreover, we discuss several strategies for synthesis and design of TiO2 photocatalysts for efficient CO2 conversion by nanostructure, structure design of photocatalysts, and material modification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Materials Used for Solar Energy Conversion and Photocatalysis)
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