Enhanced efficiency in hollow core electrospun nanofiber-based organic solar cells

Over the last decade, nanotechnology and nanomaterials have attracted enormous interest due to the rising number of their applications in solar cells. A fascinating strategy to increase the efficiency of organic solar cells is the use of tailor-designed buffer layers to improve the charge transport process. High-efficiency bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells have been obtained by introducing hollow core polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers as a buffer layer. An improved power conversion efficiency in polymer solar cells (PSCs) was demonstrated through the incorporation of electrospun hollow core PANI nanofibers positioned between the active layer and the electrode. PANI hollow nanofibers improved buffer layer structural properties, enhanced optical absorption, and induced a more balanced charge transfer process. Solar cell photovoltaic parameters also showed higher open-circuit voltage (+ 40.3%) and higher power conversion efficiency (+ 48.5%) than conventional architecture BHJ solar cells. Furthermore, the photovoltaic cell developed achieved the highest reported efficiency value ever reached for an electrospun fiber-based solar cell (PCE = 6.85%). Our results indicated that PANI hollow core nanostructures may be considered an effective material for high-performance PSCs and potentially applicable to other fields, such as fuel cells and sensors.

Electrodeposited Polyaniline Nanofibers and MoO3 Nanobelts for High-Performance Asymmetric Supercapacitor with Redox Active Electrolyte

Transition molybdenum oxides (MoO3) and conductive polymer (polyaniline, PANI) nanomaterials were fabricated and asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) was assembled with MoO3 nanobelts as negative electrode and PANI nanofibers as a positive electrode. Branched PANI nanofibers with a diameter of 100 nm were electrodeposited on Ti mesh substrate and MoO3 nanobelts with width of 30–700 nm were obtained by the hydrothermal reaction method in an autoclave. Redox active electrolyte containing 0.1 M Fe2+/3+ redox couple was adopted in order to enhance the electrochemical performance of the electrode nano-materials. As a result, the PANI electrode shows a great capacitance of 3330 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 in 0.1 M Fe2+/3+/0.5 M H2SO4 electrolyte. The as-assembled ASC achieved a great energy density of 54 Wh kg−1 at power density of 900 W kg−1. In addition, it displayed significant cycle stability and its capacitance even increased to 109% of the original value after 1000 charge–discharge cycles. The superior performance of the capacitors indicates their promising application as energy storage devices.

Role of Reaction Time on the Electrical Conductivity, Thermal Stability and Photoluminescence Property of Polyanilne Nanofibers

Direct evidence of the control of yield, thermal stability and photoluminescence property of the polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers have been reported by systematically varying the reaction time in the range of 2–6 hours (h) in the synthesis process. Both FTIR and UV–visible spectra revealed the formation of PANI fibers for all synthesis batches. The mass of the obtained PANI was increased with the increase of reaction time from 2 to 6 h. FESEM data confirmed the formation of PANI in nanofibers form for all the synthesis batches. TGA data showed that the highest thermal stability of PANI nanofibers could be obtained for the 4 h reaction time. PL data indeed showed the variation of luminescence intensity of PANI with the reaction time which indicate the formation of different quality fibers in terms of their π conjugation. Thus the three main results can be summarized: one is the increase of PANI fibers yield and another two are the thermal stability and luminescence property modification which shows that such properties of PANI can be controlled by varying the reaction time of the synthesis process.

Visible-light photocatalytic capability and the mechanism investigation of a novel PANI/Sn3O4 p–n heterostructure

A novel polyaniline (PANI)/Sn3O4 heterojunction composed of PANI nanofibers and Sn3O4 nanosheets was fabricated by a facile physical milling technique.

Synthesis of conductive polyaniline nanofibers in one step by protonic acid and iodine doping

In this study, protonic acid and iodine-doped conductive polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers were successfully fabricated in one step using ammonium persulfate (APS) and potassium biiodate (KH(IO3)2) as the co-oxidant. The resultant PANI nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Their electrochemical properties were examined by cyclic voltammetry and the standard four-probe technique. Additionally, the molecular weight of the conductive PANI nanofibers was measured using a viscometer. It is found that the PANI nanofibers are codoped with protonic acid (hydrochloric acid and iodic acid) and iodine (I3 − and I5 −), and the KH(IO3)2 shows a significant acceleration effect for the oxidation polymerization of aniline. The conductivity of PANI reaches 21 S·cm−1, which is much higher than that of another PANI prepared by APS. This is ascribed to the iodine-doping effect and the nanofibers’ morphology. Additionally, the reaction mechanism of PANI is systematically discussed, and the codoped mechanism is proposed. Systematic investigations indicate that APS/KH(IO3)2 is an excellent co-oxidant for the preparation of highly conductive PANI nanofibers in one step.