This dissertation describes electrochemical oxidation of Padan 95 SP on Boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode mainly by •OH radicals (which was measured by indirect method, i.e: the formation of 2-Hydroxylterephthalic acid (2-HTA)), Electro-Fenton and the combination with adsorption technology for increasing total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency. In this study, the formation of 2-HTA on BDD electrode via the reaction between terephthalic acid (TA) and •OH as a method to quantify hydroxyl radical formation was investigated. The degradation of Cartap in Padan 95SP (95 % Cartap) on BDD was investigated. Operating parameters such as applied current density, types of electrolyte and initial concentration of Padan 95SP were varied in order to determine their effect on the degradation efficiency of Cartap. The concentration of Cartap was determined by UV-Vis spectroscopy according to 5,5-Dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) procedure. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to characterize the commercial Padan 95SP and the formation of by-products. The optimal conditions for Cartap degradation by electrochemical process have been established: concentration of electrolyte: 0.05 M Na2SO4, initial concentration of Padan 95SP: 300 mg·L-1, pH = 3, current density: j = 20 mA·cm-2. At this condition, Cartap decreases to 41 %, TOC decay reaches 8 %. To increase TOC decay at higher Padan 95 SP concentration in aqueous solution, the combination technique of electrochemical process with other techniques was proposed, e.g.: Electro-Fenton technique, pre-oxidizing by NaOCl or the Electro-Adsorption combination. In the Electro-Fenton technique, we investigated the influence of factors such as the presence of NaOCl in pretreatment of process, affects of H2O2 concentration, Fe2+ dosage, co-catalysts metals ion and pH. The efficiency shows approximately 80 % of TOC removed at 700 mg·L-1 Padan 95 SP. The combination of electrochemical with adsorption method shows the efficient removals of TOC and Padan 95SP (95 % Cartap) based on reagents oxidation in electrochemical process and adsorption of granular activated carbon (GAC), respectively. The influence of factors such as supporting electrolytes, flow rate, bed height, recycling number as well as initial concentration were investigated in order to determine their effects on TOC removal. The efficiency of this combination shows approximately 75 % of TOC and more than 90 % of Cartap removed at 700 mg·L-1 Padan 95 SP. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) BET surface analysis were applied to investigate GAC before and after usage. The results have shown that the application of electrochemical technique with other methods can be the potential option for treatment of wastewater containing Padan 95 SP. / Diese Dissertation befasst sich mit der Reduktion des gesamten organischen Kohlenstoffs (TOC) aus wässriger Lösung, die Padan 95 SP enthält. Als Methoden zur Minimierung von TOC wurden die elektrochemische Oxidation von Padan 95 SP auf Bor-dotierter Diamant (BDD) Elektroden durch •OH Radikale, Elektro-Fenton und die Kombination mit Adsorptionstechnologien verwendet. Die •OH Radikale wurden dabei durch indirekte Methoden, z. B. die Bildung von 2-HTA gemessen. Zur Quantifizierung der Hydroxylradikalbildung wurde in dieser Studie die Bildung von 2-Hydroxylterephthalsäure (2-HTA) an BDD-Elektroden über die Reaktion zwischen Terephthalsäure (TA) und •OH untersucht. Weiterhin befasst sich die Arbeit mit dem Abbau von Cartap in Padan 95SP (95% Cartap) auf BDD über die Reaktion zwischen Cartap und Hydroxylradikalen. Betriebsparameter wie die angewandte Stromdichte, die Elektrolytarten und die Anfangskonzentration von Padan 95SP wurden variiert, um ihre Wirkung auf die Abbaueffizienz von Cartap zu bestimmen. Die Konzentration von Cartap wurde mittels UV-Vis-Spektroskopie mit dem 5,5-Dithiobis-(2-Nitrobenzoesäure) (DTNB) Verfahren bestimmt. Hochleistungs-Flüssigkeitschromatographie (HPLC) und Gaschromatographie/Massenspektrometrie (GC-MS) wurden verwendet, um das kommerziell erhältliche Padan 95SP und die Bildung von Nebenprodukten beim Abbau von Cartap zu charakterisieren. Die optimalen Bedingungen für die Cartap-Degradation durch den elektrochemischen Prozess wurden festgelegt: Konzentration des Elektrolyten: 0.05 M Na2SO4, Padan 95SP Anfangskonzentration: 300 mg·L-1, pH = 3, Stromdichte: j = 20 mA·cm-2. Unter diesen Bedingungen sinkt Cartap auf 41% und der TOC erreicht 8 % des jeweiligen Ausgangswertes. Um den TOC-Zerfall bei höher Padan 95 SP Konzentration in Wasser zu erhöhen, wurde die Kombination des elektrochemischen Prozesses mit anderen Techniken vorgeschlagen, z.B.: Elektro-Fenton-Technik, Oxidation mit NaOCl, oder die Kombination des elektrochemischen Prozesses mit einem Adsorptionsprozess. Bei der Elektro-Fenton-Technik wurde der Einfluss von Faktoren wieder Anwesenheit von NaOCl in der Prozessvorbehandlung, Auswirkungen der H2O2-Konzentration, Fe2+-Dosierung, Metallionen als Cokatalysatoren und der pH-Wert der Lösung untersucht, um die Wirkung auf die Abbau-Effizienz für Cartap zu bestimmen. Es konnten mit dieser Methode rund 80 % TOC, ausgehend von 700 mg·L-1Padan 95SP, entfernt werden. Die Kombination des elektrochemischen Prozesses mit einer Adsorptionsmethode ermöglicht eine effiziente Entfernung von TOC und Padan 95SP (95% Cartap). Dies basiert auf der Oxidation und anschließender Adsorption auf granularer Aktivkohle (GAC). Der Einfluss von Faktoren wie Leitelektrolyten, Flussrate, Betthöhe, Recyclingzahl sowie die Anfangskonzentration von Padan 95 SP wurde untersucht, um deren Auswirkungen auf die TOC Entfernung zu bestimmen. Durch die Kombination konnten so 75% desTOC und mehr als 90% Cartap bei 700 mg·L-1Padan 95 SP entfernt werden. Fourier-Transformations-Infrarot (FT-IR) und BET-Oberflächenanalyse wurden angewendet, um GAC vor und nach der Verwendung zu untersuchen. Die Ergebnisse haben gezeigt, dass die Kombination des elektrochemischen Prozesses mit anderen Methoden eine potentielle Option für die Behandlung von Abwasser, das Padan 95 SP enthält, sein kann.

The environmental concerns over the use of fossil fuels, and their resource constraints, as well as energy security concerns, have spurred great interest in generating electric energy from renewable sources. Solar and wind energy are abundant and potentially readily available. However, the generation of sustainable energies is generally intermittent and these energies have geographical limits which are relative to current large-scale energy generation facilities. To smooth out the intermittency of renewable energy production, low-cost electrical energy storage (EES) devices are becoming highly necessary. Among these EES technologies, lithium ion batteries are one of the most promising EES devices in terms of the characteristics of high gravimetric, volumetric energy density and environmentally friendly compared to lead-acid batteries and Ni-Cd batteries. Other advantages of Li-ion batteries are the ability of being recharged hundreds of times and high stability. Moreover, the dramatically growing market share of hybrid electrical and electrical vehicles in automobiles has motivated the development of high energy and power density LIBs with high mass loading. However, there are still several remaining challenges in LIBs for their further application in grid-scale ESSs. One of the global issues to date is the high costs including the cost of raw materials such as lithium and cobalt, production, machining, and transportation, etc. In addition, the increasing energy demand thereby leads to the pressures on the resource supply chains and thus increasing the cost of LIBs. Therefore, it is urgent to find a complementary or alternative EES device in a short term to satisfy the growing energy demand. Under the background of fast development of LIBs technology as well as the establishment of Li chemistry fundamentals in the last 40 years, rechargeable battery systems utilizing Na element have been extensively studied to develop less expensive and more sustainable ESSs. The sodium resource is abundantly existed in the planet. According to the periodic table, sodium is the most possible alternative to lithium, because it has the similar chemical and physical properties towards to lithium. As a consequence, the established fundamentals in LIBs can be reasonably analogized to SIBs. Moreover, Sodium is readily available from various sources-foods that contain sodium naturally, foods containing salt and other sodium-containing ingredients. Therefore, The study of SIBs technology and sodium chemistry are gaining increasing interests and attentions both in the scientific researchers and battery industry. However, theoretically speaking, the energy density of SIBs is lower than that of LIBs by using same electrode materials because sodium is more than 3 times heavier than Li as well as the standard electrode potential of Na (-2.71 V) is higher than Li (-3.04 V). Therefore, SIBs are not thought as an ideal candidate to substitute LIBs in the fields of small or middle-size portable devices, but are more favorable in a large grid support where the operation cost is the primary choice. Negative electrode is important component in a single cell. Exploring negative electrode materials with high electrochemical performance in LIBs and SIBs is indeed required for fulfilling the spreading energy demand. Among various negative electrode materials, layered transition metal sulfides (MSs) are reckoned as a promising class with high theoretical specific capacity and power capability due to their intrinsically layered structure which is beneficial to the diffusion of Li+ and Na+ . However, layered transition metal sulfides are suffering from intrinsically poor electrical conductivity, volume changes, high irreversibility and sluggish kinetics during Li+ /Na+ storage process. To address these issues, numerous strategies are applied to explore high performance LIBs and SIBs negative electrode materials in this PHD thesis. / Die ökologischen Bedenken hinsichtlich der Nutzung fossiler Brennstoffe und deren Ressourcenbeschränkungen sowie Bedenken hinsichtlich der Energiesicherheit haben großes Interesse an der Erzeugung elektrischer Energie aus erneuerbaren Quellen geweckt. Sonnen- und Windenergie sind im Überfluss vorhanden und potenziell leicht verfügbar. Die Erzeugung nachhaltiger Energien ist jedoch in der Regel intermittierend, und diese Energien haben geographische Grenzen, die im Vergleich zu den derzeitigen großen Energieerzeugungsanlagen relativ begrenzt sind. Um die Unterbrechungen in der Produktion erneuerbarer Energien auszugleichen, werden kostengünstige elektrische Energiespeicher (EES) dringend notwendig. Unter diesen EES-Technologien sind Lithium-Ionen-Batterien eines der vielversprechendsten EES-Geräte hinsichtlich der Eigenschaften einer hohen gravimetrischen, volumetrischen Energiedichte und umweltfreundlich im Vergleich zu Blei-Säure-Batterien und Ni-Cd-Batterien. Weitere Vorteile von Lithium-Ionen-Batterien sind die Fähigkeit, hunderte Male wieder aufgeladen werden zu können, und die hohe Stabilität. Darüber hinaus hat der dramatisch wachsende Marktanteil von Hybrid- und Elektrofahrzeugen in Automobilen die Entwicklung von LIBs mit hoher Energie- und Leistungsdichte und hoher Massenbelastung motiviert. Es gibt jedoch noch einige Herausforderungen in den LIBs, die für die weitere Anwendung in den ESSs im Rastermaßstab erforderlich sind. Eine der bisherigen globalen Fragen sind die Gesamtkosten einschließlich der Kosten für Rohstoffe wie Lithium und Kobalt, Produktion, Bearbeitung und Transport usw. Darüber hinaus führt die steigende Energienachfrage dadurch zu einem Druck auf die Ressourcenversorgungsketten und damit zu einer Verteuerung der LIBs. Daher ist es dringend erforderlich, kurzfristig eine ergänzende und alternative EES-Technologie zu finden, um den wachsenden Energiebedarf zu decken. Vor dem Hintergrund der schnellen Entwicklung der LIBs-Technologie sowie der Etablierung der Grundlagen der Li-Chemie in den letzten 40 Jahren wurden wiederaufladbare Batteriesysteme, die das Na-Element verwenden, umfassend untersucht, um kostengünstigere und nachhaltigere ESSs zu entwickeln. Die Natriumressource ist auf der Erde im Überfluss vorhanden. Nach dem Periodensystem ist Natrium die möglichste Alternative, da es die ähnlichen chemischen und physikalischen Eigenschaften von Lithium hat. Folglich lassen sich die etablierten Grundlagen der LIBs in vernünftiger Weise mit denen der SIBs vergleichen. Darüber hinaus ist Natrium aus verschiedenen Quellen leicht erhältlich - aus Lebensmitteln, die von Natur aus Natrium enthalten, aus Lebensmitteln, die Salz und andere natriumhaltige Zutaten enthalten. Daher gewinnt das Studium der SIBs-Technologie und Natriumchemie sowohl in der wissenschaftlichen Forschung als auch in der Batterieindustrie zunehmend an Interesse und Aufmerksamkeit. Theoretisch gesehen ist jedoch die Energiedichte von SIBs bei Verwendung der gleichen Elektrodenmaterialien niedriger als die von LIBs, da Natrium mehr als dreimal schwerer als Li ist und das Standardelektrodenpotential von Na (-2,71 V) höher als Li (-3,04 V) ist. Daher werden SIBs nicht als idealer Kandidat für den Ersatz von LIBs im Bereich kleiner oder mittelgroßer tragbarer Geräte angesehen, sondern sie sind günstiger bei einer großen Netzunterstützung, bei der die Betriebskosten die primäre Wahl sind. Die negative Elektrode ist ein notwendiger und wichtiger Teil in einer einzelnen Zelle. In der Tat ist es zur Erfüllung des sich ausbreitenden Energiebedarfs erforderlich, negative Elektroden-Materialien mit hoher elektrochemischer Leistung in LIBs und SIBs zu untersuchen. Unter den verschiedenen Materialien für negative Elektroden gelten geschichtete Übergangsmetallsulfide (MS) als eine vielversprechende Klasse mit hoher theoretischer spezifischer Kapazität und Leistungskapazität aufgrund ihrer intrinsisch geschichteten Struktur, die der Diffusion von Li+ und Na+ förderlich ist. Allerdings leiden schichtförmige Übergangsmetallsulfide unter inhärent schlechter elektrischer Leitfähigkeit, Volumenänderungen, hoher Irreversibilität und träger Kinetik während des Li+ /Na+ -Speicherprozesses. Um diese Probleme anzugehen, werden in dieser Doktorarbeit zahlreiche Strategien zur Untersuchung von Hochleistungs-LIBs und SIBs für negative Elektrodenmaterialien angewandt.

In the latter half of the 20th century the first active environmentalist movements such as Greenpeace and the International Energy Agency were born and initiated a gradual rethinking of environmental awareness. Against all expectations the sole agency under international law for climate protection policy, called the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, was formed 20 years later. Today the awareness of sustained, regenerative and environmental policies permeates throughout all areas of life, science and industry. But energy provision is the most decisive topic, especially since the discussions concerning the phase out of nuclear power where the voices calling for alternative energy sources have become much more vociferous. In addition the depletion of fossil fuels is expected to occur in the not too distant future. All new energy generation methods are required to meet the present and future energy demands, need to be ecological and need to exhibit the same or significantly lower cost expenditure than current energy sources. Unfortunately mankind is confronted with the problem that current commercial alternative energies are more expensive and not yet remotely as efficient as the present energy sources. Although energy provision based on water, wind, sun and geothermal sources have a huge potential because of their continuous presence, unfortunately, they are plagued by inefficient energy conversion caused by the state of technology i.e. the conversion of sun light into electricity loses energy through heat emission, reflection of the sun light, the inability of the material to absorb the entire sun spectrum and the ohmic losses in the transmission of electric current. The sun power is the most exhaustless resource and moreover through photovoltaic action, one of the most direct and cleanest source for use in energy conversion. Presently incoming sun light is not transformed in its entirely, as much degradation occurs during photon absorption and electron transfer processes. A number of other innovative possibilities have also been researched. With respect to cost and efficiency one of the most promising devices is injection solar cells (ISC). By dint of the dye sensitised solar cell (DSSC) Grätzels findings provided the foundations for much research into this type of solar cell where the light absorbing molecule employed in is a dye.[1] The current is obtained through charge separation in the dye, which is initiated through the connection between the dye and a metal oxide on the one hand and a matched redox couple on the other. In a variant of the DSSC the charge separation processes can also occur between a nanoporous metal oxide and nanoparticles giving rise to a quantum dot sensitised solar cell (QDSSC).[2] The use of nanoparticle (NP) properties can be utilized for the harvesting of solar energy, as demonstrated by Kamat and coworkers[3] who were able to exploit these findings subsequently and prepare a number of nanoparticle based solar cells. Nanoparticle research has comprised a wide field of science and nanotechnology for a number of years. As the size of a material approaches dimensions on the nm scale the surface properties contribute proportionally more to the sum of the properties than the volume due to the increase in the surface to volume ratio. These dimensions also constitute a threshold in which quantum physical effects need to be taken into account. Hence the properties of devices or materials in this size regime are inevitably size dependent. The basic principles can be described by two different theories, one of which is based on molecular orbital theory in which the particle is treated as a molecule. For this reason n atomic orbitals with the same symmetry and energy can build up n molecular orbitals through their linear combination based on the LCAO method (Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals).[4] In the case of solids the orbitals build up energy bands, where the unoccupied states form the quasi continous conduction band (CB) and the occuppied states form the quasi continous valence band (VB). The energy \"forbidden\" area in between these two bands is called the band gap. The band gap is a fixed material property for bulk solids but depends on size in the case of the nanoparticles. In contrast to the LCAO method, simplified solid state theory will be used throughout the present work, the theoretical background of which is provided by the effective mass approximation.[5] When an absorption of a photon occurs, an exciton (electron-hole pair) can be generated. By promoting an electron (e-) from the valence band into the conduction band a hole (h+) may be said to remain in the valence band. By comparison to bulk solids, in a small particle the free charges can sense the potential barrier i.e. the edges of the nanoparticle. Analogous to the particle in a box model this potential barrier interaction results in an increase in the band gap as the particle size decreases. In a solar cell NPs with a particle size which possess a band gap energy in the near infrared (NIR) may be utilised and therefore the NPs will be able to absorb in this spectral region. However NPs also have the ability to absorb higher energy photons due to the continuum present in their band structure, so that almost the entire sun spectral range from the NIR up to UV wavelengths may be absorbed just by using the appropriate NP material and size. Suitable NPs are metal chalcogenides e.g. MX (where M = cadmium, zinc or lead and X = sulfur, selenium or tellurium) because of their bandgap size[6–10] and their relative band positions compared to those of the semiconductor oxide states. Both the TiO2/CdSe[11–14] and TiO2/CdTe[15–18] systems have already been successfully fabricated and many of the anomalies reported.[3] Much interest in the lead chalcogenides has been generated by reports that they may feature the possibility to exhibit multiple exciton generation (MEG) where the absorption of one high energy photon can result in more than one electron-hole pairs.[19–25] Currently electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is being used more and more to clarify processes at polarisable surfaces and materials such as nanoparticles. Likewise this method has been rediscovered in photovoltaic research and its use in the characterisation of DSSCs has been discussed in the literature.[26–31] In a number of publications the evaluation of nanoporous and porous structures has been quite extensively explored.[28,29,32–34] Since the mid-20th century Jaffé’s[35] theoretical work concerning the steady- state ac response of solid and liquid systems lead to the formation of the basics of EIS. Further developments in the measurement technology have lead to a broader range of analysis becoming possible. Nevertheless the most challenging part still remains the interpretation of the results and especially to merge the measured data with the theoretical model. EIS quantifies the changes in a small ac current response at electrode electrolyte interfaces i.e. the rate at which the polarized domain will respond, when an ac potential is applied. In this way dielectric properties of materials or composites, such as charge transfers, polarization effects, charge recombination and limitations can be measured as a function of frequency and mechanistic information may be unveiled. Hence EIS allows one to draw a conclusion concerning chemical reactions, surface properties as well as interactions between the electrodes and the electrolyte. Other very useful tools that may be employed for quantifying electron transfer processes and their time domains are intensity modulated photocurrent spectroscopy (IMPS) and intensity modulated photovoltage spectroscopy (IMVS). IMPS permits the generation of time-resolved plots of particular photo-processes in the system, each of which may be specifically addressed through varying the excitation wavelength. For the IMPS technique a sinusoidal wave with a small amplitude is applied, analogous to that of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, but in this case the modulation is applied to a light source and not to the electrochemical cell as in EIS.[35] The current response is associated with the photogenerated charge carriers which flow through the system and finally discharge into the circuit. The amount of generated and discharged charge carriers is often different due to the presence of recombination and capture processes in surface or trap states. Ultimately the phase shift and magnitude of these currents reveal the kinetics of such processes. The only processes that will be addressed will be those that occur in the same frequency domain or on the same time scale as that of the modulated frequency of the illuminated light. In the literature some explanation of the kinetics of simple systems can be found and basic theories and introductive disquisitions may be found elsewhere.[36–38] Furthermore in solar cell research a multiplicity of studies are available which give an account of IMPS measurements on TiO2 nanoporous structures. Such studies permitted proof for the electron trapping and detrapping mechanism in TiO2 surface states.[39,40] An analysis of TiO2 electrodes combined with a dye sensitization step was established in the work of Peter and Ponomarev.[41–43] Hickey et.al.[44,45] have previously published kinetic studies on CdS nanoparticle (NP) modified electrodes. A theory was presented which allows for the IMPS data to be the interpreted in the case of CdS NP based electrodes. The back transfer, recombination and surface states have been demonstrated to be important as was determined from their inclusion in the theory. Similar attempts to explain the kinetics of CdS quantum dots are described by Bakkers et.al.[46]. In the present work the most important questions concern the behaviour of the photovoltaic assembly. Such assemblies can be equated with an electrode in contact with an electrolyte. Preliminary remarks about such electrodes as components of an electrochemical cell will be introduced in the first part of chapter 2. Thereafter the properties of electrodes in contact with the electrolyte and under illuminated conditions are illustrated. This is followed by a description of the important electrochemical and opto-electrochemical methods which have been employed in these studies. In particular, two separate subsections are dedicated to the methods of EIS and IMPS and the experimental section which are then linked to the theoretical section. The synthesis of all substances used and the preparation of the solar cell substrates are also dealt with in this section as will the equipment used and the instrument settings employed. The optical response of the working photoactive electrode is not only dependent on the substances used but also on their arrangement and linkage. The substrate which was employed in chapter 3 consists of a nanoporous ZnO gel layer upon which an organic linker has been placed in order to connect the oxide layer with the light absorbing component, the PbS NPs. Chapter 3 deals with the linker dependence on the ZnO layer and reports the typical optical characteristics and assembly arrangements of six different linkers on the ZnO layer which is an important intermediate stage in the fabrication of an ISC. The questions concerning how the type of linking affects the photo response and other electrochemical interactions of the complete solar cell substrate will be outlined in chapter 4. Further an examination of the electrochemical and opto-electrochemical behaviours of the samples will be presented similar to that presented in chapter 3. The most interesting substrate resulting from the investigations as described in chapter 3 and 4 will be used for a more in-depth characterisation by EIS in chapter 5. A suitable model and the results of the calculation of the ISC and the intermediate stages will be presented. The potential dependence, the dependence on the illuminated wavelength and also the size dependence of the PbS nanoparticles will be discussed. It will be revealed that ZnO is chemically unstable in contact with some of the linkers. For that reason the same linker study has been repeated with the more stable TiO2 employed as the wide band metal oxide. Comparisons between the different semiconductor metal oxides are made in chapter 6. In addition a number of open questions which previously had remained unanswered due to the instability of the ZnO can now be answered. In chapter 7 another highly porous structure different from that of the ZnO gel structure has been studied to determine its suitability as an ISC substrate. The structure arises from the electrodeposition of a ZnO reactant in the presence of eosin Y dye molecules. In the end the desorption of the dye provides a substrate with a high degree of porosity. Compared to the ZnO gel which was prepared and used for measurements in chapter 3 and 4, the electrodeposited ZnO is of a higher crystallinity and possesses a more preferential orientation. This results in a lower amount of grain boundaries which in turn results in fewer trap processes and subsequently yields a higher effective diffusion of the electron through the layer.[47,48] Optical and (opto-)electrochemical methods have been used for the basic characterisation of the untreated ZnO/Eosin Y and all other materials used in the fabrication of the ISC and a comparison with the ZnO gel used in chapter 3 and 4 will be made. Finally in chapter 8 an alternative metal oxide structure will be discussed. The background to this last chapter is to examine the influence of the ISC where the oxidic layer is present as a highly periodic arrangement, known as a photonic crystal. The TiO2 metal oxide which was also used in chapter 6 has been structured to form an inverse opal. First preparative findings and the first illustration of the (opto-)electrochemical results are presented. Consequently suggestions for improvements will be made. It is envisaged that the information gathered and presented here will help to achieve a deeper understanding of solar cells and help to improve the device efficiency and the interplay of the materials. Elementary understanding paves the way for further developments which can also contribute to providing devices for more efficient energy conversion.:Contents List of Abbreviations vii Legend of Symbols ix 1 Introduction and Motivation 1 2 Theoretical and Experimental Introduction 7 2.1 Basics of the (Opto-)Electrochemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.1.1 Electrode-Electrolyte Interface Non-Illuminated . . . . . . 8 2.1.2 Electrode-Electrolyte Interface Under Illumination . . . . . 10 2.1.3 The Processes in the Injection Solar Cell (ISC) . . . . . . . 12 2.1.4 Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2.1.5 Chronoamperometry (CA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2.1.6 Incident Photon to Current Conversion Efficiency (IPCE) . 16 2.1.7 Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) . . . . . . 17 2.1.8 Intensity Modulated Photocurrent Spectroscopy (IMPS) . 21 2.2 Experimental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 2.2.1 Synthesis of ZnO Sol-Gel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 2.2.2 Synthesis of TiO2 Sol-Gel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 2.2.3 Preparation of the ZnO/Eosin Y Substrate . . . . . . . . . 24 2.2.4 Syntheses and Preparation of the Inverse Opal . . . . . . . 25 2.2.5 The Syntheses for PbS Nanoparticle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 2.2.6 Preparation of the PbS Coated Substrates . . . . . . . . . 30 2.2.7 Preparation of the ISC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 2.2.8 Material Characterisations and Instrument Settings . . . . 33 3 The Linker Attachment on a ITO/ZnO Substrate 37 3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 3.2 The ITO/ZnO Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 3.2.1 The ZnO Layer and the ITO/ZnO Substrate Preparation . 40 3.2.2 The ZnO Structure as a Function of the Sintering Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 3.3 The Linker on the ITO/ZnO Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 3.3.1 The Linker Orientation on the ZnO layer . . . . . . . . . . 48 3.3.2 The Linker Interaction with the ZnO Gel . . . . . . . . . . 52 3.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 4 The PbS Sensitized ITO/ZnO/linker Substrate 59 4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 4.2 The ITO/ZnO/Linker/PbS Substrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 4.2.1 Spectroscopic Evidence for PbS on the ITO/ZnO/Linker Substrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 4.2.2 The Cyclic Voltammetry Study on the Substrates . . . . . 63 4.2.3 The Opto-Electrochemistry on the Substrates . . . . . . . 70 4.3 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 5 The EIS Study of the ITO/ZnO/MPA/PbS Substrate 75 5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 5.2 The Substrate Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 5.3 The Substrate Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 5.4 The Model for the EIS Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 5.5 The Results of EIS Data Fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 5.5.1 The EIS Results of the FTO/ZnO Substrate . . . . . . . . 86 5.5.2 The EIS Results of the FTO/ZnO/MPA Substrate . . . . 89 5.5.3 The EIS Results of the FTO/ZnO/MPA/PbS Substrate . . 92 5.5.4 The EIS Results for Shorter Illumination Wavelength . . . 96 5.5.5 The Resistance of the Linker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 5.6 General Remarks on the Modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 5.7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 6 TiO2 based Injection solar Cell 119 6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 6.2 The ITO/TiO2 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 6.3 The Linker and PbS Attachment on the ITO/TiO2 Substrate . . . 123 6.4 The Cyclic Voltammetry Study on the Substrates . . . . . . . . . 125 6.4.1 The Linker Sensitized ITO/TiO2 Film . . . . . . . . . . . 125 6.4.2 The ITO/TiO2/Linker/PbS Substrate . . . . . . . . . . . 126 6.5 The Opto-Electrochemistry on the Substrates . . . . . . . . . . . 127 6.6 Comparison Between ZnO and TiO2 Based ISCs . . . . . . . . . . 129 6.7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 7 ZnO-Eosin Y based Injection Solar Cell 135 7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 7.2 The FTO/ZnO-Ey Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 7.3 The PbS Attachment to the FTO/ZnO-Ey Film . . . . . . . . . . 137 7.4 The Cyclic Voltammetry Study on the Substrates . . . . . . . . . 140 7.5 The Opto-Electrochemistry on the Substrates . . . . . . . . . . . 142 7.5.1 The Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) Study on the Substrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 7.5.2 The IPCE Measurements on the Substrates . . . . . . . . 144 7.5.3 The Photo Transient Measurements on the Substrates . . . 145 7.6 Comparison between ZnO and ZnO-Ey based ISC . . . . . . . . . 146 7.7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 8 Injection Solar Cell meets Photonic Crystal 151 8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 8.2 The Opal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 8.3 The Inverse Opal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 8.4 The Inverse Opal based ISC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 8.4.1 The Substrate Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 8.4.2 The Cyclic Voltammetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 8.4.3 The Opto-Electrochemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 8.4.4 The EIS Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 8.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 9 Overall Conclusion 167 10 Outlook 173 Bibliography I A Acknowledgement XXV B Erklärung XXVII

Die vorwiegend experimentelle Arbeit befasst sich mit der systematischen Untersuchung von Parametervariationen bei der aktiven Strömungskontrolle mit elektromagnetischen Kräften. An einer angestellten Platte und einem NACA0015-Profil wurde die saugseitige abgelöste Strömung durch das Einbringen einer periodischen wandparallelen Lorentzkraft an der Vorderkante beeinflusst und experimentell mittels zeitaufgelöster Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) untersucht. Dabei wurde für verschiedene Anstellwinkel und Reynoldszahlen die Frequenz der Anregung, deren Impulseintrag und der zeitliche Kraftverlauf variiert. Strömungsmechanische Untersuchungen experimenteller und numerischer Natur wurden für eine elektrochemische Zelle und den Fall der Elektrolyse an Millieelektroden unter dem Einfluss externer Magnetfelder durchgeführt. Die Übereinstimmung der gemessenen und berechneten Geschwindigkeitsfelder war dabei sehr gut. Entgegen der Annahme, dass im Falle homogener Magnetfelder keine Strömungen induziert werden, konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass durch die lokale Krümmung der elektrischen Feldlinien in Elektrodennähe starke Lorentzkräfte generiert werden. Dies führt zu sehr komplexen Primär-und Sekundärströmungen. Die gleichen Effekte bewirken ebenfalls in der Nähe von Millieelektroden starke Lorentzkräfte in homogenen magnetischen Feldern. Die experimentellen Beobachtungen an Millieelektroden von Leventis et. al (2005), welche zum Beweis der Konzentrationsgradientenkraft herangezogen wurden, konnten alle auf das Wirken lokaler Lorentzkräfte zurückgeführt werden. Der experimentelle Nachweis der Konzentrationsgradientenkraft steht damit weiterhin aus. Zur Messung der Konzentrationen in elektrochemischen Systemen wurde erstmals das Hintergrundschlierenverfahren angewendet. Dieses Verfahren erlaubt die Bestimmung der räumlichen Konzentrationsgradienten mit erheblich weniger messtechnischen Aufwand gegenüber spektroskopischen Methoden und der Schlierentechnik.

Die Menschheit steht vor der großen Herausforderung der Energieversorgung des 21. Jahrhundert. Nirgendwo ist diese noch dringlicher geworden als im Bereich der Energiespeicherung und Umwandlung. Konventionelle Energie kommt hauptsächlich aus fossilen Brennstoffen, die auf der Erde nur begrenzt vorhanden sind, und hat zu einer starken Belastung der Umwelt geführt. Zusätzlich nimmt der Energieverbrauch weiter zu, insbesondere durch die rasante Verbreitung von Fahrzeugen und verschiedener Kundenelektronik wie PCs und Mobiltelefone. Alternative Energiequellen sollten vor einer Energiekrise entwickelt werden. Die Gewinnung erneuerbarer Energie aus Sonne und Wind sind auf jeden Fall sehr wichtig, aber diese Energien sind oft nicht gleichmäßig und andauernd vorhanden. Energiespeichervorrichtungen sind daher von großer Bedeutung, weil sie für eine Stabilisierung der umgewandelten Energie sorgen. Darüber hinaus ist es eine enttäuschende Tatsache, dass der Akku eines Smartphones jeglichen Herstellers heute gerade einen Tag lang ausreicht, und die Nutzer einen zusätzlichen Akku zur Hand haben müssen. Die tragbare Elektronik benötigt dringend Hochleistungsenergiespeicher mit höherer Energiedichte. Der erste Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit beinhaltet Lithium-Ionen-Batterien unter Verwendung von einzelnen aufgerollten Siliziumstrukturen als Anoden, die durch nanotechnologische Methoden hergestellt werden. Eine Lab-on-Chip-Plattform wird für die Untersuchung der elektrochemischen Kinetik, der elektrischen Eigenschaften und die von dem Lithium verursachten strukturellen Veränderungen von einzelnen Siliziumrohrchen als Anoden in einer Lithium-Ionen-Batterie vorgestellt. In dem zweiten Teil wird ein neues Design und die Herstellung von flexiblen on-Chip, Festkörper Mikrosuperkondensatoren auf Basis von MnOx/Au-Multischichten vorgestellt, die mit aktueller Mikroelektronik kompatibel sind. Der Mikrosuperkondensator erzielt eine maximale Energiedichte von 1,75 mW h cm-3 und eine maximale Leistungsdichte von 3,44 W cm-3. Weiterhin wird ein flexibler und faserartig verwebter Superkondensator mit einem Cu-Draht als Substrat vorgestellt. Diese Dissertation wurde im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts GRK 1215 "Rolled-up Nanotechnologie für on-Chip Energiespeicherung" 2010-2013, finanziell unterstützt von der International Research Training Group (IRTG), und dem PAKT Projekt "Elektrochemische Energiespeicherung in autonomen Systemen, no. 49004401" 2013-2014, angefertigt. Das Ziel der Projekte war die Entwicklung von fortschrittlichen Energiespeichermaterialien für die nächste Generation von Akkus und von flexiblen Superkondensatoren, um das Problem der Energiespeicherung zu addressieren. Hier bedanke ich mich sehr, dass IRTG mir die Möglichkeit angebotet hat, die Forschung in Deutschland stattzufinden. / Human beings are facing the grand energy challenge in the 21st century. Nowhere has this become more urgent than in the area of energy storage and conversion. Conventional energy is based on fossil fuels which are limited on the earth, and has caused extensive environmental pollutions. Additionally, the consumptions of energy are still increasing, especially with the rapid proliferation of vehicles and various consumer electronics like PCs and cell phones. We cannot rely on the earth’s limited legacy forever. Alternative energy resources should be developed before an energy crisis. The developments of renewable conversion energy from solar and wind are very important but these energies are often not even and continuous. Therefore, energy storage devices are of significant importance since they are the one stabilizing the converted energy. In addition, it is a disappointing fact that nowadays a smart phone, no matter of which brand, runs out of power in one day, and users have to carry an extra mobile power pack. Portable electronics demands urgently high-performance energy storage devices with higher energy density. The first part of this work involves lithium-ion micro-batteries utilizing single silicon rolled-up tubes as anodes, which are fabricated by the rolled-up nanotechnology approach. A lab-on-chip electrochemical device platform is presented for probing the electrochemical kinetics, electrical properties and lithium-driven structural changes of a single silicon rolled-up tube as an anode in lithium ion batteries. The second part introduces the new design and fabrication of on chip, all solid-state and flexible micro-supercapacitors based on MnOx/Au multilayers, which are compatible with current microelectronics. The micro-supercapacitor exhibits a maximum energy density of 1.75 mW h cm-3 and a maximum power density of 3.44 W cm-3. Furthermore, a flexible and weavable fiber-like supercapacitor is also demonstrated using Cu wire as substrate. This dissertation was written based on the research project supported by the International Research Training Group (IRTG) GRK 1215 "Rolled-up nanotech for on-chip energy storage" from the year 2010 to 2013 and PAKT project "Electrochemical energy storage in autonomous systems, no. 49004401" from 2013 to 2014. The aim of the projects was to design advanced energy storage materials for next-generation rechargeable batteries and flexible supercapacitors in order to address the energy issue. Here, I am deeply indebted to IRTG for giving me an opportunity to carry out the research project in Germany. September 2014, IFW Dresden, Germany Wenping Si

Diese Arbeit präsentiert eine einfache eine einfache, auf Photolithographie basierende Methode zur Darstellung einer isolierten Graphenkante (oder GrEdge) einer Monolage als Nanoelektrode auf einem isolierenden Substrat vorgestellt. Trotz ihrer Millimeter-Länge verhält sich die nur einen Nanometer breite GrEdge-Elektrode wie ein Nanodraht mit einem hohen Seitenverhältnis von 1000000 zu 1. Des Weiteren wird der Einsatz von elektrochemischer Modifikation (ECM) demonstriert, um die GrEdge selektiv mit Metall-Nanopartikeln und organischen Schichten nicht-kovalente oder kovalente zu funktionalisieren, wodurch die Chemie der Kante verändert werden kann. Durch die Anbringung von Metall-Nanopartikeln kann zusätzlich oberflächenverstärkte Raman-Spektroskopie (SERS) genutzt werden, um die chemische Beschaffenheit sowohl der unberührten als auch der funktionalisierten GrEdge zu charakterisieren. Die GrEdge weist sehr hohe Mass-entransportraten auf, was charakteristisch für Nanoelektroden ist. Dementsprechend wird die voltammetrische Antwort von der Kinetik des heterogenen Elektrontransfers (HET) diktiert. An der GrEdge-Elektrode werden hohe HET-Raten beobachtet: mindestens 14 cm/s für Außensphäre sonde Ferrocenmethanol (FcMeOH) mit einem quasi-Nernst'schen Verhalten und 0,06 cm/s oder höher für innere Sphäre sonde Ferricyanide ([Fe(CN)6]3-) mit einer kinetisch kontrollierten Reaktion. Nach der selektiven Modifikation der Kante mit Goldnanopartikeln erweist sich der HET als reversibel, mit einer massentransportbegrenztes Nernst‘sches Verhalten aufweisen für beide Redoxmoleküle. Darüber hinaus ermöglicht die schnelle HET-Kinetik die Detektion der reduzierten Form von Nicotinamid-Adenin-Dinukleotid (NADH) und Flavin-Adenin-Dinukleotid (FAD) mit niedrigen Ansatzpotentialen und hinunter bis zu niedrigen mikromolaren Konzentrationen. Entsprechend verbessert die vorliegende Arbeit das Verständnis der Kante von Graphen und deren Chemie. / This thesis presents a simple photolithography-based method to realize the isolated monolayer graphene edge (or GrEdge) nanoelectrode on an insulating substrate. The millimeter-long and a nanometer-wide GrEdge is found to behave like a nanowire with a high aspect ratio of 1000000-to-1. Further, the use of electrochemical modification (ECM) is demonstrated to selectively functionalize the GrEdge with metal nanoparticles and organic moieties in a non-covalent/ covalent manner to tune the chemistry of the edge. The attachment of metal nanoparticles was used to exploit surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to characterize the chemistry of both the pristine and the functionalized GrEdge. The GrEdge electrodes were found to exhibit very high mass transport rates, characteristic of nanoelectrodes. Accordingly, the voltammetric response is found to be dictated by the kinetics of heterogeneous electron transfer (HET), attributed to the nanoscale geometry and a unique diffusional profile at such electrodes. At the GrEdge electrode, high HET rates are observed: at least 14 cm/s for outer-sphere probe, ferrocenemethanol (FcMeOH) with a quasi-Nernstian behavior; and 0.06 cm/s or higher for inner-sphere probe, ferricyanide ([Fe(CN)6]3-) with a kinetically controlled response. Upon selective modification of the edge with gold nanoparticles, the HET is found to be reversible, with a mass-transport-limited Nernstian response for both probes. Furthermore, the fast HET kinetics enables the sensing of the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) with low onset potentials and down to low micromolar concentrations. Hence, this thesis improves the understanding of the edges of graphene and their chemistry. It also realizes isolated GrEdge as a new class of nanoelectrode which forms an important basis within the fields of fundamental electrochemistry and analytical sciences.

This master thesis deals with qualifications of the catalytic materials for positive electrode low-temperature fuel cells. The teoretical part focuses on the physical and chemical properties of low-temperature fuel cells. There are described methods of hydrodynamic RDE and RRDE. RRDE study utilizes methods linear and cyclic voltammetry for qualifying performance of catalytic materials and presentation of results. The practical part describes the preparation various types of carbon materials. There are monitored the oxygen reduction using RRDE. Catalytic materials are evaluated: CV, stability, kinetic parameters, creation of intermediate H2O2 and kinetics of electrode reactions.