Surface plasmon resonance could increase the efficiency of solar cells , when light is trapped by the noble metallic nanoparticles arrangement at and into the silicon solar cell (SSC) surface. Pure noble metal (silver and gold) nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized as colloids in de-ionized water (DW) by pulsed laser ablation (PLA) process at optimum laser fluence. Silicon solar cell with low efficiency was converted to plasmonic silicon solar cell by overcasting deposition method of silver nanoparticles on the front side of the SSC. The performance of plasmonic solar cell (PSC) was increased due to light trapping. Two mechanisms were involved : inserting silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) inside the silicon layer by the heating effect of pulsed laser and depositing gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) on the surface of the SSC by overcasting method. The optical properties of silver and gold colloidal solutions were studied with UV- Visible spectrophotometer with a range from 190 nm to 1100 nm. The absorption spectra showed single absorption peak located at about the characteristic value for silver and gold nanoparticles due to the surface plasmon resonance. Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) images were studied , the ablated noble NPs by pulsed laser have an average diameter less than 100 nm. AFM images showed the morphology of SSC surface without and with nanoparticles before and after overcasting and heating by laser methods. Electrical measurements for SSC namely current – voltage ( I-V )characteristics and responsivity (Rλ) displayed higher efficiency after these procedures. The efficiency rise to(5.2%) due to the localized surface plasmons excitation of (Ag NPs) that were embedded into the silicon layer by the heating effect of pulsed laser. The deposition of AuNPs on the silicon surface of the plasmonic SC additionally increased the efficiency to (7.28%), due to light trapping by scattering from Au NPs towards the plasmonic solar cell depth .
This study successfully synthesized high-performance photodetectors based on Ag-WO3 core–shell heterostructures using a simple and economical two-step pulsed laser ablation in water method and has investigated the electrical characteristics of the Ag@WO3 nanocomposite heterojunction. The Hall effect tests indicate that the synthesized Ag@WO3 exhibits n-type conduction with a Hall mobility of 1.25 × 103 cm2V-1S-1. Dark current–voltage properties indicated that the created heterojunctions displayed rectification capabilities, with the highest rectification factor of around 1.71 seen at a 5 V bias. A photodetector’s responsivity reveals the existence of two response peaks, which are situated in the ultraviolet and visible region. The ph
... Show MoreIn this study, zinc ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (ZnFe2O4, ZFO MNPs) were employed as a sorbent for the removal of oil spill from water surfaces. ZFO MNPs were synthesized via a sol-gel process and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). Both the apparent density and magnetic force were determined. ZFO MNPs presented a considerable magnetic force (40.22 mN) and an adequate density (0.5287 g/cm3), which are important for the magnetic separation and flotation. Four oil samples (gasoline engine oil, crude oil, used motor oil and diesel engine oil) were used to investigate the gravimetric oil removal capability of ZFO MNPs. The oil sorption capacit
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