Photovoltaic cells are a promising solution to the current energy crisis. Among the different photovoltaic cell technologies developed, dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSC) are emerging as viable low-cost alternatives to Si PV technology. This thesis presents studies on fabrication and characterisation of TiO2 based dye-sensitised solar cells. Chapter 1 gives an overview of different photovoltaic cell technologies and a review of the state-of-the art DSSC technology. Chapter 2 describes the techniques used for characterisation of DSSCs. Chapter 3 describes the fabrication of TiO2 based dye-sensitised solar cells. Chapter 4 presents the analysis of measurements obtained by the characterisation techniques. Finally chapter 5 summarises the work done and suggests directions for future work.

It has been observed that in certain cases the exposure of dyed fibres to aging techniques results in the strengthening of fibres. This thesis explores the hypothesis that the strengthening is due to radical cross-coupling reactions that could be initiated through metal ion mediated photodecarboxylation. The approaches taken in this research include kinetic experiments (using flash photolysis), examination of possible cross-coupling experiments (using species of opposite charge), and the design and examination of small molecule model systems. A flash photolysis system was developed and used in attempts to determine the rates of photochemical product formation for cobalt(III) amino acid complexes. Lower limits have been established for the rate of product formation in these systems. The lower limits are: 2 x 10⁷ s⁻¹ for [Co(bpy)2(gly)]²⁺; 2 x 10⁷ s⁻¹ for [Co(tpa)(gly)]²⁺; and 5 x 10⁶ s⁻¹ for [Co(tpa)(aib)]²⁺, where bpy is 2,2'-bipyridine; gly is glycinate; tpa is tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine; and aib is aminoisobutyrate. In past studies, the rates of a series of cobalt(III) amino acid complexes were reported as being the same, and much slower. It is thought that in these cases it may not be the rate of the formation of product that was being measured, but rather the response time of the electronics that was being observed. In this thesis the results obtained for the rate for the aib complex were somewhat lower than those of the gly complexes. This may imply, for the aib complex at least, the rate of the formation of the metallocycle is being observed (and not the response times of the electronics or other limitations of the instrumentation), but the data is poor and there is considerable doubt about this. The steady state photolysis of opposite charged species [Co(bpy)2(gly)]²⁺ and [Co(EDTA)]⁻ is reported. The reactions were carried out on a small scale in deuterated solvent for NMR spectrometry analysis and also on a large scale for the possible isolation and characterisation of the products. Evidence was found for a different reaction occurring when both complexes were present. The exact nature of the product remains elusive. A model system was designed in which a dinuclear ligand would bind to two metal centres and a fibre mimic would be later added. Eight ligands are discussed that could potentially bind two octahedral metal centres. They all had a xylene spacing group linking the two polydentate sites together. Five of the ligands have two bidentate binding sites. The other three had two tridentate sites. The binding sites in three of the bis(bidentate) ligands were based on ethane-1,2- diamine (en). Two of these ligands produced hypodentate monocobalt and sundentate dicobalt complexes. The other two bidentate ligands were based on 2- aminomethylpyridine (ampy). Both of these ligands degraded in the complexation reaction conditions. The binding sites in the tridentate ligands were all based on tacn. Once again, the principal products isolated were hypodentate systems in which only one metal ion was coordinated by the ligands. There is a distinct pattern observed in the xylene spaced ligands to form hypodentate complexes with cobalt(III) metal centred complexes. There is evidence of the di-nuclear species from a reaction with a charcoal catalyst in the bis(bidentate) system. ¹H NMR spectrometry, ¹³C NMR spectrometry, elemental analysis, X-ray crystallography and UV-vis spectroscopy were used to study and characterise the complexes and ligands that were prepared in this project.

Cinza leve de carvão, resíduo gerado em usina termelétrica, foi usada para sintetizar zeólita por meio de tratamento hidrotérmico com solução de NaOH. A cinza leve (CL-2) e a zeólita sintética (ZM-2) que foi predominantemente identificada como hidroxi-sodalita foram utilizadas como adsorventes dos corantes aniônicos índigo carmina (IC) e reativo laranja 16 (RL16) de soluções aquosas. Nos processos de adsorção, os efeitos de tempo de contato, concentração inicial de corantes, pH, massa de adsorventes e temperatura foram avaliados. O estudo cinético de adsorção demonstrou que os resultados apresentaram melhor ajuste ao modelo de pseudo-segunda ordem e que adsorção de superfície e difusão intrapartícula participaram no mecanismo de adsorção. Os parâmetros termodinâmicos demonstraram que a adsorção foi espontânea em todos os processos de adsorção. Os processos de adsorção foram de natureza endotérmica para todos os sistemas, com exceção do sistema IC/ZM-2, em que foi exotérmico. Os dados de entropia mostraram a ocorrência do aumento da desordem na interface sólido/solução durante a adsorção em todos os sistemas, exceto novamente no IC/ZM-2, no qual se verificou a diminuição da desordem na interface. As isotermas de adsorção ajustaram-se à equação linear de Langmuir. As capacidades máximas de adsorção foram 1,48 mg/g para o sistema IC/CL-2; 1,13 mg/g para IC/ZM-2; 0,96 mg/g para RL16/CL-2 e 1,14 mg/g para RL16/ZM-2 à temperatura ambiente. O estudo de dessorção realizado com água, com soluções aquosas ácidas e com solução aquosa básica demonstrou ser ineficiente tanto para a recuperação dos corantes quanto para a regeneração dos adsorventes. / Coal fly ash, a waste generated in coal-fired electric power plant, was used to synthesize zeolite by hydrothermal treatment with NaOH solution. The fly ash (CL-2) and this synthesized zeolite (ZM-2) that was characterized as hydroxy-sodalite were used as adsorbents for anionic dyes indigo carmine (IC), and reactive orange 16 (RO16) from aqueous solutions. Effects of contact time, initial dye concentration, pH, adsorbent mass, and temperature were evaluated in the adsorption processes. The kinetics studies indicated that the adsorption followed the pseudo-second order kinetics and that surface adsorption and intraparticle diffusion were involved in the adsorption mechanism. The thermodynamics parameters demonstrated that the adsorption was spontaneous for all adsorption processes. The enthalpy data confirmed the endothermic nature for all adsorption processes except for IC/ZM-2 system which was exothermic. The entropy data showed an increased disorder at the solid/solution interface during the adsorption for all systems except for IC/ZM-2 whose negative entropy value indicated a decreased disorder at the interface. The adsorption isotherms were closely fitted to the Langmuir linear equation. The maximum adsorption capacities were 1.48 mg/g for the IC/CL-2 system; 1.13 mg/g for IC/ZM-2; 0.96 mg/g for RO16/CL-2, and 1.14 mg/g for RO16/ZM-2 at room temperature. The desorption study carried out with water, with acid aqueous solutions, and with an alkali aqueous solution showed to be inefficient both for recovering the dyes and regenerating the adsorbents.

Cinza leve de carvão, resíduo gerado em usina termelétrica, foi usada para sintetizar zeólita por meio de tratamento hidrotérmico com solução de NaOH. A cinza leve (CL-2) e a zeólita sintética (ZM-2) que foi predominantemente identificada como hidroxi-sodalita foram utilizadas como adsorventes dos corantes aniônicos índigo carmina (IC) e reativo laranja 16 (RL16) de soluções aquosas. Nos processos de adsorção, os efeitos de tempo de contato, concentração inicial de corantes, pH, massa de adsorventes e temperatura foram avaliados. O estudo cinético de adsorção demonstrou que os resultados apresentaram melhor ajuste ao modelo de pseudo-segunda ordem e que adsorção de superfície e difusão intrapartícula participaram no mecanismo de adsorção. Os parâmetros termodinâmicos demonstraram que a adsorção foi espontânea em todos os processos de adsorção. Os processos de adsorção foram de natureza endotérmica para todos os sistemas, com exceção do sistema IC/ZM-2, em que foi exotérmico. Os dados de entropia mostraram a ocorrência do aumento da desordem na interface sólido/solução durante a adsorção em todos os sistemas, exceto novamente no IC/ZM-2, no qual se verificou a diminuição da desordem na interface. As isotermas de adsorção ajustaram-se à equação linear de Langmuir. As capacidades máximas de adsorção foram 1,48 mg/g para o sistema IC/CL-2; 1,13 mg/g para IC/ZM-2; 0,96 mg/g para RL16/CL-2 e 1,14 mg/g para RL16/ZM-2 à temperatura ambiente. O estudo de dessorção realizado com água, com soluções aquosas ácidas e com solução aquosa básica demonstrou ser ineficiente tanto para a recuperação dos corantes quanto para a regeneração dos adsorventes. / Coal fly ash, a waste generated in coal-fired electric power plant, was used to synthesize zeolite by hydrothermal treatment with NaOH solution. The fly ash (CL-2) and this synthesized zeolite (ZM-2) that was characterized as hydroxy-sodalite were used as adsorbents for anionic dyes indigo carmine (IC), and reactive orange 16 (RO16) from aqueous solutions. Effects of contact time, initial dye concentration, pH, adsorbent mass, and temperature were evaluated in the adsorption processes. The kinetics studies indicated that the adsorption followed the pseudo-second order kinetics and that surface adsorption and intraparticle diffusion were involved in the adsorption mechanism. The thermodynamics parameters demonstrated that the adsorption was spontaneous for all adsorption processes. The enthalpy data confirmed the endothermic nature for all adsorption processes except for IC/ZM-2 system which was exothermic. The entropy data showed an increased disorder at the solid/solution interface during the adsorption for all systems except for IC/ZM-2 whose negative entropy value indicated a decreased disorder at the interface. The adsorption isotherms were closely fitted to the Langmuir linear equation. The maximum adsorption capacities were 1.48 mg/g for the IC/CL-2 system; 1.13 mg/g for IC/ZM-2; 0.96 mg/g for RO16/CL-2, and 1.14 mg/g for RO16/ZM-2 at room temperature. The desorption study carried out with water, with acid aqueous solutions, and with an alkali aqueous solution showed to be inefficient both for recovering the dyes and regenerating the adsorbents.

ABSTRACT PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SILVER SERS NANOTAGS Kibar, Seda M.S., Department of Chemistry Supervisor: Prof. Dr. M&uuml / rvet Volkan December 2010, 88 pages Tags are materials used for labeling substances and so make possible the qualitative and quantitative analysis both in macroscopic and microscopic world. Nowadays, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy became the favored one among the optical based-tag detection systems. Progress in surface enhanced Raman detection and imaging technologies depends on the availability of Raman labels with strong light scattering characteristics. In this study various SERS nanotags were prepared. An ideal SERS nanotag consists of three parts, core nanoparticle for enhancement, Raman active molecule for signature and a shell for protection and further functionalization. As a core material, silver nanoparticles were prepared using the chemical reduction method with sodium citrate as reductant. SERS enhancement provided by Ag particles prepared was examined. For colloidal stabilization and further surface modifications, silica with a controlled thickness was deposited on Ag nanoparticles. Three single-dye doped nanotags, Ag-BCB@SiO2 Ag-CFV@SiO2 and Ag-CV@SiO2 were prepared using positively charged dyes, brilliant cresyl blue (BCB), cresyl fast violet (CFV) and cresyl violet (CV). The effects of silica thickness and dye concentration in the reaction medium were examined. Stability of prepared nanotags and repeatability of the method were investigated. Multi-dye doped nanotags were prepared using BCB and CFV solutions mixed at various concentration ratios. Resulting Raman spectra Ag-BCB-CFV@SiO2 nanotags successfully exhibited characteristic peaks of each dye with a good resolution. In addition, the molar ratio between dyes BCB and CFV was reflected on the related spectra. A linear correlation was observed between the molar ratio of the dyes and their Raman intensity ratio.

It has been observed that in certain cases the exposure of dyed fibres to aging techniques results in the strengthening of fibres. This thesis explores the hypothesis that the strengthening is due to radical cross-coupling reactions that could be initiated through metal ion mediated photodecarboxylation. The approaches taken in this research include kinetic experiments (using flash photolysis), examination of possible cross-coupling experiments (using species of opposite charge), and the design and examination of small molecule model systems. A flash photolysis system was developed and used in attempts to determine the rates of photochemical product formation for cobalt(III) amino acid complexes. Lower limits have been established for the rate of product formation in these systems. The lower limits are: 2 x 10⁷ s⁻¹ for [Co(bpy)2(gly)]²⁺; 2 x 10⁷ s⁻¹ for [Co(tpa)(gly)]²⁺; and 5 x 10⁶ s⁻¹ for [Co(tpa)(aib)]²⁺, where bpy is 2,2'-bipyridine; gly is glycinate; tpa is tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine; and aib is aminoisobutyrate. In past studies, the rates of a series of cobalt(III) amino acid complexes were reported as being the same, and much slower. It is thought that in these cases it may not be the rate of the formation of product that was being measured, but rather the response time of the electronics that was being observed. In this thesis the results obtained for the rate for the aib complex were somewhat lower than those of the gly complexes. This may imply, for the aib complex at least, the rate of the formation of the metallocycle is being observed (and not the response times of the electronics or other limitations of the instrumentation), but the data is poor and there is considerable doubt about this. The steady state photolysis of opposite charged species [Co(bpy)2(gly)]²⁺ and [Co(EDTA)]⁻ is reported. The reactions were carried out on a small scale in deuterated solvent for NMR spectrometry analysis and also on a large scale for the possible isolation and characterisation of the products. Evidence was found for a different reaction occurring when both complexes were present. The exact nature of the product remains elusive. A model system was designed in which a dinuclear ligand would bind to two metal centres and a fibre mimic would be later added. Eight ligands are discussed that could potentially bind two octahedral metal centres. They all had a xylene spacing group linking the two polydentate sites together. Five of the ligands have two bidentate binding sites. The other three had two tridentate sites. The binding sites in three of the bis(bidentate) ligands were based on ethane-1,2- diamine (en). Two of these ligands produced hypodentate monocobalt and sundentate dicobalt complexes. The other two bidentate ligands were based on 2- aminomethylpyridine (ampy). Both of these ligands degraded in the complexation reaction conditions. The binding sites in the tridentate ligands were all based on tacn. Once again, the principal products isolated were hypodentate systems in which only one metal ion was coordinated by the ligands. There is a distinct pattern observed in the xylene spaced ligands to form hypodentate complexes with cobalt(III) metal centred complexes. There is evidence of the di-nuclear species from a reaction with a charcoal catalyst in the bis(bidentate) system. ¹H NMR spectrometry, ¹³C NMR spectrometry, elemental analysis, X-ray crystallography and UV-vis spectroscopy were used to study and characterise the complexes and ligands that were prepared in this project.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 217-247).

In the current study, SAPs of cationic monomer [2 - (Methacryloyloxy) ethyl] trimethylammonium chloride have been prepared by free radical solution polymerisation with different crosslinkers. They were subjected to repeated cycles of swelling and de-swelling in DI water and NaCl solution. The conductivity of the swelling medium was measured and related to the swelling/de-swelling characteristics of the SAPs. The swelling capacity was also determined in saline solution. The swelling and de-swelling processes were described by first-order kinetics. The SAPs exhibited varied swelling capacity for crosslinkers of the same functionality as well as different functionality. The SAPs were used to adsorb, the dye Orange G at different initial concentrations of the dye. The equilibrium adsorption data followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherms. The SAPs were also used to adsorb three other dyes, Congo red, Amido black and Alizarin cyanine green. They exhibited different adsorption capacity for different dyes. The adsorption phenomenon was found to follow first order kinetics. In the later part of the study, the co-monomers of [2 - (Methacryloyloxy) ethyl] trimethylammonium chloride with zwitter-ionic monomers [2-(Methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide and [3-(Methacryloylamino)propyl]dimethyl(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide inner salt were prepared in turns at two different concentrations. The effect of the addition of the zwitter-ionic monomers and their concentration of the swelling capacity and dye adsorption capacity was studied. There was no effect on the swelling capacity of the polymers due to either the species of the zwitter-ionic monomer or their concentration. However, there was a reduction in soluble content of the polymers. The dye adsorption capacity decreased at the higher concentration of the zwitter-ionic monomer.

PhD (Physics) / Department of Physics / Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted rapid interest over the recent years with prospect of emerging as a viable alternative to conventional silicon based solar cells. The photoanode of DSSCs comprises of dye molecules anchored to the surface of semiconductors such as TiO2. However, the major drawback of Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is its wide band gap (3.0 eV to 3.2 eV) which limits its photocatalytic activities to the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Understanding the interaction of dye molecules with the surfaces of TiO2 is crucial for optimizing light-harvesting, photoconversion function and photocurrent densities in DSSCs. The three polymorphs of TiO2 are anatase, brookite and rutile. The optical properties of brookite semiconductor have not been much studied although brookite has been reported to have good photocatalytic properties. In this work, Density functional theory (DFT) computational approach was used through various computational softwares which are CASTEP, GAUSSIAN, GAUSSUM, GPAW, ASE, and AVOGADRO with B3LYP, LANL2DZ, PBE, and GGA functional to explore the photocatalytic properties of the typical ruthenium N3 complex, polyenediphenyl-aniline dye moiety, croconate dye molecules and three modelled surfaces of brookite which are (TiO2)5, (TiO2)8 and (TiO2) 68 for application in DSSCs. We also studied the absorption of the corresponding dye molecules on the three surfaces of brookite TiO2. Our findings showed strong binding ability, good electronic coupling, efficient charge separation, spontaneous electron injection and good spectral properties upon adsorption of the dye molecules to brookite TiO2 semiconductor clusters. Our findings on the optical absorption spectra of ruthenium N3 dye, croconate dye and polyenediphenyl-aniline dye molecule absorbed on (TiO2)5 and (TiO2)8 brookite cluster shows bathocromatic shift of the absorption maxima to higher wavelength and improve optical response of TiO2 brookite cluster. A red spectra shift and absorption over a wide range of the solar spectrum in the visible and near infra-red region of the solar spectrum was achieved upon absorption of the ruthenium N3 complex and polyenediphenyl-aniline dye molecules on (TiO2)5 and (TiO2)8 brookite cluster. The results generally suggest that the absorption of dye molecules on TiO2 brookite cluster improves its spectra responsivity in the UV region and makes it possible to absorb over the whole spectrum range, that is, the UV, visible and near infra – red region of the solar spectrum. Our findings also showed good electron injection kinetics from the dye to TiO2 brookite clusters, which suggests higher photocurrents density and open circuit voltage in DSSCs. / NRF

This is my thesis research on the preparation of borylazadipyrromethene (azaBODIPY) dyes bearing an anchoring group, such as a carboxylic acid group, at the β-pyrrolic position of the azadipyrromethene scaffold. Carboxylate groups form covalent bonds to oxide semiconductors such as TiO2 (n-type) or Cu2O (p-type) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) or photogalvanic dye-sensitized solar cells (P-DSCs). Oxide-binding azaBODIPY dyes can be used to investigate the rate and mechanism of electron injection from the dyes to the semiconductors. Two different types of azaBODIPY (difluoroboryl and dialkynylboryl) were prepared by following previously developed methods. To convert difluoroborylazaBODIPY to the final dyes having a carboxylic acid in the β-pyrrolic position, several distinct synthetic routes were designed, adopting various reactions, such as halogenation, Sonogashira coupling, Knoevenagel condensation, Grignard reagents, Vilsmeir-Haack, and Steglich esterification. Some of these reactions were successful, but the overall synthesis to the targeted final molecule couldn’t be accomplished. Even though further studies on the synthesis of oxide-binding azaBODIPYs are needed, at least my thesis research suggests what reactions can be implemented to complete this synthesis in the future. Proton NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) and carbon NMR were commonly used to confirm the synthesized compounds, and sometimes crystallographic information was obtained by XRD (X-ray diffraction) whenever crystals of sufficient size and quality were grown. NMR spectra, interpreted by SpinWorks 3 software, and crystal structures will be introduced in each chapter.