Upcycled Synthesis and Extraction of Carbon-Encapsulated Iron Carbide
Nanoparticles for Gap Plasmon Applications in Perovskite Solar Cells
Abstract
An effective method for obtaining large amounts of metal nanoparticles
encapsulated by carbon layers through upcycling from floating-catalyst
aerosol chemical vapor deposited carbon nanotubes is demonstrated.
Nanoparticles with diameters of less than 20 µm are selectively
extracted from the synthesized carbon assortments through sonication,
centrifugation, and filtration. The particles show an aggregation
behavior owing to the π–π interaction between the graphitic carbon
shells surrounding the iron carbides. By controlling the degree of the
aggregation and arrangement, the light scattering by the gap-surface
plasmon effect in perovskite solar cells is maximized. Application of
the nanoparticles to the devices increased the power conversion
efficiency from 19.71% to 21.15%. The short-circuit current density
(JSC) trend over the particle aggregation time accounts for the
plasmonic effect. The devices show high stability analogue to the
control devices, confirming that no metal-ion migration took place
thanks to the encapsulation.