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This work was financially supported by the Universidad Industrial de Santander-Colciencias, project 110265843664 (VIE 8836). Andres F. Gualdron-Reyes acknowledges Colciencias for a PhD 617-scholarship. The authors thank the Laboratorio de Ciencia de Superficies-SurfLab, and specially to Jhonatan Rodriguez for spending valuable time for the XPS analysis of the samples.

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Alejandro Mejia-Escobar, MarioAuthor

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July 4, 2024
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The role of boron in the carrier transport improvement of CdSe- sensitized B, N, F-TiO2 nanotube solar cells: a synergistic strategy

Publicated to:New Journal Of Chemistry. 42 (17): 14481-14492 - 2018-09-07 42(17), DOI: 10.1039/c8nj02716a

Authors: Gualdron-Reyes, Andres F; Melendez, Angel M; Alejandro Mejia-Escobar, Mario; Jaramillo, Franklin; Nino-Gomez, Martha E

Affiliations

Univ Antioquia UdeA, Fac Ingn, Ctr Invest Innovac & Desarrollo Mat CIDEMAT, Calle 70 52-21, Medellin 050010, Colombia - Author
Univ Ind Santander, Ctr Invest Catalisis CICAT, Piedecuesta 681011, Santander, Colombia - Author
Univ Ind Santander, Ctr Invest Cient & Tecnol Mat & Nanociencias C, Piedecuesta 681011, Santander, Colombia - Author
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Abstract

The synergistic effects of different engineering strategies, especially interface engineering, band structure engineering, and micro/nano engineering, can be exploited for the development of efficient photoanodes for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). Herein, we investigate the energy transfer mechanism and the charge carrier transport capacity of a set of photoanodes developed for a CdSe QDSSC. Boron, nitrogen and fluorine-tridoped TiO2 nanotube (BNF-TNT) membranes were obtained by anodization of titanium to self-organized TiO2 nanotube (TNT) layers, followed by a lift-off process. Then BNF-TNT membranes were adhered onto indium-tin oxide (ITO) conductive glass and sensitized by varying the load of CdSe quantum dots (BNF-Y-CdSe) using the SILAR method. The as-prepared electrode materials were characterized by FESEM, HR-TEM, DRS, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. The photochemical, photoelectrochemical, and semiconducting properties of the electrode materials were investigated by photopotential, photovoltammetry, photocurrent transient measurements, and Mott-Schottky analyses in 1.0 M Na2S. CdSe quantum dots (QDs) were homogeneously and intimately coated on BNF-TNT, which favored electron transport to the ITO substrate, and promoted a red-shift in the light harvesting of the composite toward the visible region (1.65 eV) from UV (2.75 eV). The highest photoresponse was obtained for BNF-TNT grown in 0.06 wt% H3BO3, and sensitized with CdSe QDs after five SILAR cycles. Boron doping in BNF-5-CdSe increased the photoconversion efficiency with respect to the CdSe-sensitized nanotubes without B-doping (NF-5-CdSe) by around 176% under one sun illumination (AM 1.5 G, 100 mW cm(-2)). The results showed that B-doping/sensitization synergism occurs by a Ti3+ states-to-CdSe QD electron transfer, which increases electron flow toward back contact. This allowed the enhancement of the electron lifetime, charge-collection efficiency and incident-to-electron conversion efficiency.

Keywords

ArraysArticleBand alignmentBoronCadmium selenideEfficiencyElectric currentElectron transportEnergy transferField emission scanning electron microscopyFilmsFluorineHeterojunctioHigh resolution transmission electron microscopyIlluminationIndium tin oxideMembraneNanotubeNitrogenPerformancePhotochemistryPhotoelectron spectroscopyPotentiometryPriority journalQuantum dotQuantum dotsRaman spectrometrySodium sulfideSunlightTio2Titanium dioxide nanoparticleUltraviolet radiation

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal New Journal Of Chemistry due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2018, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Materials Chemistry.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 1.62, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Oct 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-10-26, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 16
  • Scopus: 16

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-10-26:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 21 (PlumX).

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Colombia.