One of the main bottlenecks in the development of materials for applications in the fields of opto- and nanoelectronics, catalysis, separation, and energy conversion is the difficulty of fabricating porous large surface area 3D inorganic semiconducting nanostructures in a precisely-controlled and inexpensive manner. In this presentation, we demonstrate that covalently-linked cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) aerogels can be used both as scaffolds for liquid electrolytes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and as templates for atomic layer deposition (ALD) of titanium dioxide (TiO2). Furthermore, these templates can be removed upon calcination of the porous network structure, which can then serve as an electrode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting cells producing energy in the form of H2(g). When the functional TiO2 coating was 15 nm thick, 100 % improvement in solar water splitting efficiency over a planar device was obtained, clearly demonstrating the vast possibilities for optimization with respect to device performance and material consumption. Moreover, when the TiO2 coating thickness was further reduced to 7 nm, we were able to demonstrate the thinnest self-supporting mesoporous semiconductive structure fabricated directly on a conductive substrate by using sacrificial aerogel templates. On top of the potential for opening new markets for the use of nanocellulose aerogels in renewable energy, novel understanding and unexpected properties can emerge from combining the ultrahigh precision ALD and the large-area 3D nanostructured templates made out of CNCs.

Nanocellulose as a building block for renewable energy

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.