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Rapid and scalable synthesis of crystalline tin oxide nanoparticles with superior photovoltaic properties by flame oxidation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2017

Easwaramoorthi Ramasamy Open the ORCID record for Easwaramoorthi Ramasamy [Opens in a new window] ,
P. Kathirvel ,
S. Kumar ,
Koppoju Suresh  and
Ganapathy Veerappan
Easwaramoorthi Ramasamy*
Affiliation:
International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, Hyderabad 500005, India
P. Kathirvel
Affiliation:
PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore 641004, India
S. Kumar*
Affiliation:
International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, Hyderabad 500005, India
Koppoju Suresh
Affiliation:
International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, Hyderabad 500005, India
Ganapathy Veerappan
Affiliation:
International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, Hyderabad 500005, India
*
Address all correspondence to Easwaramoorthi Ramasamy and S. Kumar at easwar@arci.res.in; skumar@arci.res.in
Address all correspondence to Easwaramoorthi Ramasamy and S. Kumar at easwar@arci.res.in; skumar@arci.res.in
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Abstract

Tin oxide (SnO2) nanoparticles in gram scale quantity were synthesized from inexpensive Sn feedstock by flame oxidation. Selection of optimal feedstock size based on computational fluid dynamics ensures complete conversion of Sn into SnO2 nanoparticles. The rapid melting and oxidation of feedstock in high-temperature oxidative flame endow the crystalline and phase-pure SnO2 nanoparticles, as evident from x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analysis. Dye-sensitized solar cells fabricated using flame-SnO2 nanoparticles show higher efficiency (ɳ = 2.72%) than that of commercial SnO2 nanoparticles (ɳ = 1.53%). The increased efficiency is attributed to suppression of electron recombination caused by passivation of sub-band-edge surface states.

Type
Research Letters
Information
MRS Communications , Volume 7 , Issue 4 , December 2017 , pp. 862 - 866
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Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

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