Engineering of magnetically separable ZnFe2O4@ TiO2 nanofibers for dye-sensitized solar cells and removal of pollutant from water

Saeed Al-Meer, Zafar Khan Ghouri, Khaled Elsaid, Ahmed Easa, Muneera Th Al-Qahtani, M. Shaheer Akhtar

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    In this study, magnetic Zinc Ferrite (ZnFe2O4)@TiO2 nanofibers were prepared by low cost and nontoxic route; hydrothermal technique followed by electrospinning process. The prepared magnetic ZnFe2O4@TiO2 nanofibers were morphologically and structurally analyzed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The prepared magnetic ZnFe2O4@TiO2 nanofibers were utilized as photoanode for the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and presented applicable performance with 4.2% overall conversion efficiency with high short circuit current density (JSC) of 10.16 mA/cm2. The maximum ∼42% incident photo-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) value was also recorded at 530 nm. In addition, ZnFe2O4@TiO2 nanofibers were not only possessed the good conversion efficiency, but also shown excellent photocatalytic efficiency with magnetic properties towards the dye remediation. Prepared ZnFe2O4@TiO2 nanofibers can be considered as a promising material for energy conversion and environmental applications.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)477-483
    Number of pages7
    JournalJournal of Alloys and Compounds
    Volume723
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 21 Jun 2017

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