title: Synthesis of polycarbonate-r-polyethylene glycol copolymer for templated synthesis of mesoporous TiO2 films.
abstract: We synthesized a novel polycarbonate Z-r-polyethylene glycol (PCZ-r-PEG) copolymer by solution polycondensation. Successful synthesis of PCZ-r-PEG copolymer was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). PCZ-r-PEG copolymer was used as a structure-directing agent for fabrication of mesoporous thin film containing a titanium dioxide (TiO2) layer. To control the porosity of the resultant inorganic layer, the ratio of titanium(IV) isopropoxide (TTIP) to PCZ-r-PEG copolymer was varied. The structure and porosity of the resulting mesoporous films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. Mesoporous TiO2 films fabricated on an F-doped tin oxide (FTO) surface were used as photoanodes for quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (qssDSSCs). The highest efficiency achieved was 3.3% at 100 mW/cm2 for a film thickness of 750 nm, which is high considering the thickness of TiO2 film, indicating the importance of the structure-directing agent.
authors.forename: Rajkumar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Jinkyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Chang Soo
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jong Hak
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011076:Polycarboxylate Cement / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D011076:Polycarboxylate Cement; C009495:titanium dioxide; C005506:polycarbonate; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D014025:Titanium