Rapid Conversion from Carbohydrates to Large-Scale Carbon Quantum Dots for All-Weather Solar Cells.

Tang, Qunwei; Zhu, Wanlu; He, Benlin; Yang, Peizhi · ACS Nano · 2017

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

A great challenge for state-of-the-art solar cells is to generate electricity in all weather. We present here the rapid conversion of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) from carbohydrates (including glucose, maltol, sucrose) for an all-weather solar cell, which comprises a CQD-sensitized mesoscopic titanium dioxide/long-persistence phosphor (m-TiO<sub>2</sub>/LPP) photoanode, a I<sup>-</sup>/I<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> redox electrolyte, and a platinum counter electrode. In virtue of the light storing and luminescent behaviors of LPP phosphors, the generated all-weather solar cells can not only convert sunlight into electricity on sunny days but persistently realize electricity output in all dark-light conditions. The maximized photoelectric conversion efficiency is as high as 15.1% for so-called all-weather CQD solar cells in dark conditions.