10.1007/s40095-016-0213-5

New design of potentially low-cost solar cells using TiO2/graphite composite as photon absorber

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  • Dui Yanto Rahman1,
  • Mamat Rokhmat1,
  • Elfi Yuliza1,
  • Euis Sustini1,
  • Mikrajuddin Abdullah*1,
  1. Department of Physics, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, 40132, ID
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Published in Issue 2016-07-08

How to Cite

Rahman, D. Y., Rokhmat, M., Yuliza, E., Sustini, E., & Abdullah, M. (2016). New design of potentially low-cost solar cells using TiO2/graphite composite as photon absorber. International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering, 7(3 (September 2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-016-0213-5
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Abstract

Abstract We propose a solar cell design using the combination of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) and graphite as active photon absorbing materials. TiO 2 absorbs photons of nearly ultraviolet wavelengths to produce electron–hole pairs, while graphite is expected to absorb photons of longer wavelengths. Although many authors have claimed that graphite is a semimetal, we observed that a model of a solar cell containing TiO 2 only as the active material behaves exactly the same as a model containing graphite only as the active material. Additionally, we observed that a model of a solar cell made using a composite of TiO 2 and graphite as the active material had much higher efficiency than solar cells made using TiO 2 - or graphite-only active materials. Although the highest efficiency we report here is approximately 1 %, our proposed solar cell structure is promising for mass application, especially in low-income settings, owing to its easy and flexible fabrication, and easy large-scale application.

Keywords

  • Graphite,
  • Titanium dioxide,
  • Solar cell,
  • Nanoparticles
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