Investigation on novel CuS/NiS composite counter electrode for hindering charge recombination in quantum dot sensitized solar cells

Strong interfacial coupling for NiS thin layer covered CdS nanorods with highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production

The formation of NiS/CdS covered heterojunctions promotes the separation and migration of photoinduced charges, thus boosting the photocatalytic H₂ production.

In situ self-assembly of Ni3S2/MnS/CuS/reduced graphene composite on nickel foam for high power supercapacitors

Transition metal sulfides (TMS), as promising electroactive materials for asymmetric supercapacitors, have been limited due to their relatively poor conductivity and cycle stability. Here ternary Ni₃S₂/MnS/CuS composites were assembled in situ on nickel foam (NF) using a hydrothermal method via electrostatic adsorption of Ni⁺, Mn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ ions on a reduced graphene (rGO) nanosheet template. The chemical structure was characterized by various analytic methods. Ni₃S₂/MnS/CuS has spherical morphology assembled from closely packed nanosheets, while Ni₃S₂/MnS/CuS@rGO has a three-dimensional porous spherical structure with much lower diameter because rGO nanosheets can play the role of a template to induce the growth of Ni₃S₂/MnS/CuS. At a current density of 1 A g⁻¹, the specific capacitance was obtained to be 1028 F g⁻¹ for Ni₃S₂/MnS/CuS, 628.6 F g⁻¹ for Ni₃S₂/MnS@rGO, and 2042 F g⁻¹ for Ni₃S₂/MnS/CuS@rGO, respectively. Charge transfer resistance (R_ct) of Ni₃S₂/MnS/CuS@rGO (0.001 Ω) was much lower than that of Ni₃S₂/MnS@rGO by 0.02 Ω, and lower than that of Ni₃S₂/MnS/CuS by 0.017 Ω. After 5000 cycles, the Ni₃S₂–MnS–CuS@RGO electrode maintains 78.3% of the initial capacity at 20 A g⁻¹. An asymmetric supercapacitor was subsequently assembled using Ni₃S₂/MnS/CuS@rGO as the positive electrode and rGO as the negative electrode. The specific capacitance of asymmetric batteries was maintained at 90.8% of the initial state after 5000 GCD.

Transition metal sulfides (TMS), as promising electroactive materials for asymmetric supercapacitors, have been limited due to their relatively poor conductivity and cycle stability.

A Review on the Advancement of Ternary Alloy Counter Electrodes for Use in Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells

A dye-sensitised solar cell (DSSC) counter electrode (CE) plays a vital role in catalysing the conversion of triiodide ( I 3 − ) to iodide ions ( I − ), thereby ensuring the completion of the repetitive cycle of electricity generation. The platinum CE, despite being the standard counter electrode in DSSCs, has drawbacks of platinum’s rarity and high cost. Platinum is an excellent redox catalyst, and consequently, it is the most sought-after metal for catalytic conversions. The huge demand for platinum in the automotive industry for vehicular catalytic converters, the pharmaceutical industry, and in oil refining, as well as other industries, has driven its price to unprecedented levels. The prohibitive price of platinum has caused newer thin film technologies, such as the DSSC which depends on the platinum CE, to be cost-ineffective, thus meaning they cannot compete with the better-established silicon-based solar cells. These problems have stagnated the development of the DSSC, which in turn has dampened larger commercialisation prospects for this thin film technology. With this in mind, this review paper focuses on recent progress in the research and development of alternative cost-effective materials to replace Pt-based CEs. Ternary alloys are amongst the possible alternatives that have been explored, yielding varied results. Alloys, especially ternary sulphides, selenides, and oxides, are attractive as alternatives as they are cheap and are easily fabricated. Ternary alloys also have a synergistic effect produced by the coexistence of two metal ions in a crystal structure, which is believed to induce greater catalytic capability, thus making them ideal cost-effective materials to replace the Pt CE in DSSCs. This review intends to highlight the performance of ternary alloy counter electrodes through the analysis of charge transfer resistance and power conversion efficiencies. Focus is also given to the restrictions and impediments to the attainment of higher power conversion efficiency in alternative CEs. The advances in fabrication of simple ternary alloys, as well as more advanced hierarchical nanostructured counter electrodes, are discussed here in detail. Results obtained to date indicate that the efficiencies of ternary alloy counter electrodes are still below that of the platinum counter electrode, and hence more research is required to enhance their efficiencies.

Influence of solvents in the preparation of cobalt sulfide for supercapacitors

In this study, cobalt sulfide (CoS) electrodes are synthesized using various solvents such as water, ethanol and a combination of the two via a facile chemical bath deposition method on Ni foam. The crystalline nature, chemical states and surface morphology of the prepared CoS nanoparticles are characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transition electron microscopy. The electrochemical properties of CoS electrodes are also evaluated using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. When used as an electrode for a supercapacitor, CoS prepared with ethanol as a solvent exhibits a capacitance of 41.36 F g^-1 at 1.5 A g^-1, which is significantly better than that prepared using water and water/ethanol-based solvents (31.66 and 18.94 F g^-1 at 1.5 A g^-1, respectively). This superior capacitance is attributed to the ideal surface morphology of the solvent, which allows for easy diffusion of electrolyte ions into the inner region of the electrode. High electrical conduction enables a high rate capability. These results suggest that CoS nanoparticles are highly promising for energy storage applications as well as photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, water splitting and solar cells, among others. These results show that CoS is a promising positive electrode material for practical supercapacitors.

A hydrothermal reaction combined with a post anion-exchange reaction of hierarchically nanostructured NiCo2S4 for high-performance QDSSCs and supercapacitors

This paper proposes a strategy to synthesize NiCo₂S₄via a hydrothermal reaction combined with a post anion-exchange reaction that was used directly as an electrode in supercapacitor and quantum-dot sensitized solar cells.

Densely packed zinc sulfide nanoparticles on TiO2 for hindering electron recombination in dye-sensitized solar cells

A graphical diagram of DSSCs without and with ZnS as a compact layer on a TiO₂ film.