Electrochemical Deposition of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles for High-Performance Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ( DSSCs) Applications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64354/ofon.ci.2.1.49Abstract
The electrochemical production of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) and their use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are described in this work. Using graphite as the cathode and copper foil as the anode, CuO NPs were created via electrochemical deposition under carefully regulated voltage and current conditions. The obtained CuO NPs' monoclinic phase, nanosheet-like morphology, and high purity were confirmed by structural and morphological characterizations carried out using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The nanoparticles were then used as photoanodes in methyl orange dye-sensitized DSSCs. The open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.593 V, the short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 3.43 mA, and the fill factor (FF) of 49.4%, which correspond to a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.67%, were obtained from current–voltage (I–V) measurements used to assess photovoltaic performance. The improved performance is ascribed to CuO NPs' advantageous optical and electrical characteristics, quick electron injection, and effective dye adsorption. These results show that CuO NPs produced electrochemically are viable and affordable options for DSSC applications, and they also help to develop sustainable photovoltaic technologies.
References
(1) Xiong, T., Dumat, C., Dappe, V., Vezin, H., Schreck, E., Shahid, M., ... & Sobanska, S. (2017). Copper oxide nanoparticle foliar uptake, phytotoxicity, and consequences for sustainable urban agriculture. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(9), 5242-5251.
(2) Perumal, V., & Ilangkumaran, M. (2018). The influence of copper oxide nano particle added pongamia methyl ester biodiesel on the performance, combustion and emission of a diesel engine. Fuel, 232, 791-802.
(3) Asadi, M., & Rozati, S. M. (2017). Optical and structural properties of nanostructured copper oxide thin films as solar selective coating prepared by spray pyrolysis method. Materials Science-Poland, 35(2), 355-361.
(4)Dhaouadi, M. Physical properties of Copper oxide Thin films prepared by Sol–Gel Spin–Coating Method. Am. J. Phys. 2018, 6 (2), 43.
(5) Prabu, R. D., Valanarasu, S., Ganesh, V., Shkir, M., AlFaify, S., Kathalingam, A., ... & Chandramohan, R. (2018). An effect of temperature on structural, optical, photoluminescence and electrical properties of copper oxide thin films deposited by nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, 74, 129-135.
(6) Aghayan, M., Hussainova, I., Kirakosyan, K., & Rodríguez, M. A. (2017). The template-assisted wet-combustion synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles on mesoporous network of alumina nanofibers. Materials Chemistry and Physics, 192, 138-146.
(7) Akgul, U.; Yildiz, K.; Atici, Y.( 2016), Effect of annealing temperature on morphological, structural and optical properties of nanostructured CuO thin film. Eur. Phys. J. Plus. 131 (4).
(8) Mikami, K., Kido, Y., Akaishi, Y., Quitain, A., & Kida, T. (2019). Synthesis of Cu2O/CuO nanocrystals and their application to H2S sensing. Sensors, 19(1), 211.
(9) Wisz, G., Sawicka-Chudy, P., & Wal, A. (2018). Sibi nski. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys, 57, 8RC05.
(10) Immanuel, S., Aparna, T. K., & Sivasubramanian, R. (2019). Graphene–metal oxide nanocomposite modified electrochemical sensors. In Graphene-based electrochemical sensors for biomolecules (pp. 113-138). Elsevier.
(11) Zhang, Q., Zhang, K., Xu, D., Yang, G., Huang, H., Nie, F., ... & Yang, S. (2014). CuO nanostructures: Synthesis, characterization, growth mechanisms, fundamental properties, and applications. Progress in Materials Science, 60, 208-337.
(12) Sun, S., Zhang, X., Yang, Q., Liang, S., Zhang, X., & Yang, Z. (2018). Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) crystals with tailored architectures: A comprehensive review on synthesis,
fundamental properties, functional modifications and applications. Progress in Materials Science, 96, 111-173.
(13) Stepniowski, W. J., Stojadinović, S., Vasilić, R., Tadić, N., Karczewski, K., Abrahami, S. T., ... & Mol, J. M. (2017). Morphology and photoluminescence of nanostructured oxides grown by copper passivation in aqueous potassium hydroxide solution. Materials Letters, 198, 89-92.
(14) Macdonald, T. J., Clancy, A. J., Shutt, R. R., & Howard, C. A. (2022). Phosphorene nanoribbons for next-generation energy devices. Joule, 6(11), 2441-2446.
(15) Rheima, A. M., Anber, A. A., Abdullah, H. I., & Ismail, A. H. (2021). Synthesis of alpha-gamma aluminum oxide nanocomposite via Electrochemical Method for Antibacterial Activity. Nano Biomed. Eng, 13(1), 1-5..
(16) Analysis of Microstructural Changes, Morphology and Optical Properties of the Surface of Copper Oxide Thin Layers due to Annealing for Use in Optoelectronic Devices. Mavādd-i Pīshraftah Dar Muhandisī 2024, 43 (2). https://doi.org/10.47176/jame.43.2.1062.
(17) Patwary, M. A. M., Hossain, M. A., Ghos, B. C., Chakrabarty, J., Haque, S. R., Rupa, S. A., ... & Tanaka, T. (2022). Copper oxide nanostructured thin films processed by SILAR for optoelectronic applications. RSC advances, 12(51), 32853-32884.
(18)- Isaifan, R. J., Samara, A., Suwaileh, W., Johnson, D., Yiming, W., Abdallah, A. A., & Aïssa, B. (2017). Improved self-cleaning properties of an efficient and easy to scale up TiO2 thin films prepared by adsorptive self-assembly. Scientific reports, 7(1), 1-9.
(19)- Yaashikaa, P. R., Kumar, P. S., Varjani, S. J., & Saravanan, A. (2019). A review on photochemical, biochemical and electrochemical transformation of CO2 into value-added products. Journal of CO2 Utilization, 33, 131-147.
(20)- Al-Nemrawi, N. K., Alkhatib, R. Q., Ayyad, H., & Nid''A, A. (2022). Formulation and characterization of tobramycin-chitosan nanoparticles coated with zinc oxide nanoparticles. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, 30(4), 454-461.
(21)- Pathania, D., Katwal, R., & Kaur, H. (2016). Enhanced photocatalytic activity of electrochemically synthesized aluminum oxide nanoparticles. International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy, and Materials, 23(3), 358-371.
(22)- Monteiro, M. C., & Koper, M. T. (2019). Alumina contamination through polishing and its effect on hydrogen evolution on gold electrodes. Electrochimica Acta, 325, 134915.
(23)- Atrak, K., Ramazani, A., & Taghavi Fardood, S. (2018). Green synthesis of amorphous and gamma aluminum oxide nanoparticles by tragacanth gel and comparison of their photocatalytic activity for the degradation of organic dyes. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 29(10), 8347-8353.
(24)- Attia, K. A., Abdel-Raoof, A. M., Serag, A., Eid, S. M., & Abbas, A. E. (2022). Innovative electrochemical electrode modified with Al 2 O 3 nanoparticle decorated MWCNTs for ultra-trace determination of tamsulosin and solifenacin in human plasma and urine samples and their pharmaceutical dosage form. RSC advances, 12(27), 17536-17549.
(25)- Patwary, M. A. M., Hossain, M. A., Ghos, B. C., Chakrabarty, J., Haque, S. R., Rupa, S. A., ... & Tanaka, T. (2022). Copper oxide nanostructured thin films processed by SILAR for optoelectronic applications. RSC advances, 12(51), 32853-32884. (26) Yun, J. W., Ullah, F., Jang, S. J., Kim, D. H., Nguyen, T. K., Ryu, K. Y., ... & Kim, Y. S. (2018). Ultrasonic-assisted spin-coating: improved junction by enhanced permeation of a coating material within nanostructures. ACS applied materials & interfaces, 10(23), 20025-20031.
(27)- Zimbovskii, D. S., & Churagulov, B. R. (2018). Cu2O and CuO films produced by chemical and anodic oxidation on the surface of copper foil. Inorganic Materials, 54(7), 660-666.
(28) Vieillard, J., Bouazizi, N., Morshed, M. N., Clamens, T., Desriac, F., Bargougui, R., ... & Azzouz, A. (2019). CuO nanosheets modified with amine and thiol grafting for high catalytic and antibacterial activities. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 58(24), 10179-10189.
(29) Tavakoli, S., Kharaziha, M., & Ahmadi, S. (2019). Green synthesis and morphology dependent antibacterial activity of copper oxide nanoparticles. Journal of Nanostructures, 9(1), 163-171.
(30) Moëzzi, F., Hedayati, S. A., & Ghadermazi, A. (2018). Ecotoxicological impacts of exposure to copper oxide nanoparticles on the gill of the Swan mussel, Anodonta cygnea (Linnaeus, 1758). Molluscan Research, 38(3), 187-197.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Chemical Interactions
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
