Estudos Exploratórios para a Produção de um Material Fotovoltaico de Baixo Custo Baseado em Óxido de Titânio e Polianilina

Abstract

For more sustainable societal development, advancements in green technologies for alternative clean energy sources and environmental remediation techniques are an urgent necessity. Currently, silicon solar cells are the most common, but thin-film cells, which use semiconductor materials deposited in thin layers, are flexible and can be integrated into various surfaces. Solar energy, being renewable and inexhaustible, is crucial for reducing dependence on fossil fuels and mitigating climate change. This work investigates the development of a low-cost photovoltaic material by combining titanium dioxide (TiO2) and polyaniline. Given the urgent need for green technologies for alternative clean energy sources and environmental remediation, the research focuses on creating a photoconductive material that can be used in solar cells and photovoltaic devices. The study explores the fabrication of thin films of polyaniline and additives to assess their viability as sensor or photovoltaic materials. Various combinations of reagents were tested and microscopically analyzed for the structures formed. Additionally, mono, bi, and tri-layer films of emeraldine and rutile were obtained by two drying methods and subsequently analyzed for their electrical behavior, resulting in the synthesis of at least one good candidate. The obtained film is fast, simple, and cheap to manufacture but exhibits low mechanical stability. Its structure is a single-layer film, dried using method 2, and contains 4% rutile in its composition (M24). This candidate shows significant values of voltage and current, associated with low electrical resistance and moderate capacitance. New initiatives may improve the quality of the films and explore applications in alternative energy and sensors.