Carbon microspheres via microwave-assisted synthesis as counter electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells

Preparation and application of carbon and hollow TiO2 microspheres by microwave heating at a low temperature

A fast, simple, and energy-saving microwave-assisted approach was successfully developed to prepare carbon microspheres. The carbon microspheres with a uniform particle size and good dispersity were prepared using glucose as the raw material and HCl as the dehydrating agent at low temperature (90°C) in an open system with the assistance of microwave heating. The carbon microspheres were characterized by elemental analysis, XRD, SEM, FTIR, TG, and Raman. The results showed that the carbon microspheres prepared under the condition of 18.5% (v/v) HCl and heating for 30 min by microwave had a narrow size distribution. The core–shell structure of the carbon core and TiO2 shell was prepared with (NH4)2TiF6, H3BO3 using the microwave-assisted method. The hollow TiO2 microspheres with good crystallinity and high photocatalytic properties were successfully prepared by sacrificing the carbon microspheres.

Microwave assisted synthesis of MoS2/nitrogen-doped carbon shell–core microspheres for Pt-free dye-sensitized solar cells

Novel MoS₂/nitrogen-doped carbon shell–core microsphere counter electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells with a high efficiency of 6.2%.

Colloidal and micro-carbon spheres derived from low-temperature polymerization reactions

Carbon spheres (CSs) have recently attracted major interest due to their new applications, mainly in energy storage and conversion but also in hard-templating, sorption/catalysis processes, and drug delivery systems. This is attributable to their physico-chemical properties, including their tunable morphology (solid, hollow and core-shell), size, surface area/porosity, good electrical conductivity, low external surface-to-volume ratio, high packing density, enhanced mass transport, robust mechanical stability, low cytotoxicity, and excellent biocompatibility. They can be obtained from a wide variety of carbon precursors and methods. This review covers their production by carbonization of polymer spheres from low-temperature polymerization reactions, considered here as below 250°C. This is a very important method because it allows the synthesis of CSs with different morphologies and doped with other elements or chemical compounds. The preparation of polymer spheres by this technique is well documented in the literature, and the objective of this review is to summarize and give an overview of the most significant publications, proposing a novel classification based on the formation mechanism of the polymer spheres. This classification includes the following polymerization processes: emulsion polymerization and its derivatives, seeded emulsion and inverse emulsion polymerization; precipitation polymerization and its derivative, dispersion polymerization; hard-templating; spray-drying; and hydrothermal or solvothermal treatment of carbohydrates and biomass in general. This review also reports on the morphology and surface characteristics of the CSs obtained by different synthetic approaches. The final section of the review describes the current applications of these CSs, notably in energy storage (supercapacitors and rechargeable batteries) and energy conversion (fuel cells and dye-sensitized solar cells). Besides the numerous applications listed above, they are utilized as sacrificial hard templates to prepare single- and multi-shell hollow spheres of metal oxides and other inorganic compounds and filters, as well as in adsorption and catalysis processes, drug delivery systems, and other minority applications (e.g., lubricants, black pigment in e-papers, and microwave absorber).

Nitrogen-doped carbon microspheres counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells by microwave assisted method

Nitrogen-doped carbon microspheres were synthesized for counter electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells with a high efficiency of 6.28%.