Natural dyes can be used in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) to generate low-cost devices, although with low light harvesting because of energy losses from the recombination process. This study investigates recombination reactions in DSSCs with natural dyes extracted from eggplants, plums, and hibiscus flowers. Titanium dioxide films were coated on a fluorine-doped tin oxide glass conductor substrate by the doctor blading method and impregnated in a dye solution for 24 h. Electrodeposited platinum was used as the cathode, and I3–/I– as the redox couple. The techniques employed were: intensity modulated photovoltage spectroscopy, intensity modulated photocurrent spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, charge extraction, and cyclic voltammetry. The results show that cells containing plum dye exhibited the best photovoltaic parameters, with high values of gap, charge extraction, and potential, being less resistive to charge transfer with an electron lifetime of 0.51 s, collection time of 8.54 ms, and charge efficiency collection of 0.99.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have received much attention as an alternative to silicon-based solar cells, due to various advantages. Zinc oxide (ZnO) is an n-type semiconductor employed as photoanode on DSSC. The decrease of charge recombination is an efficient strategy capable of improving the photovoltaic performance of the device. In this perspective, Nb2O5 was added on ZnO solar cells. The oxides were characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The photovoltaic parameters were obtained through J-V plots and photocronoamperometry. The results showed that the niobium oxide obtained presented orthorhombic crystal structure and DSSC with the addition of niobium oxide showed better efficiency, of 1.42% when compared the device with only ZnO.

In this study, the corrosion protection provided by films of self-assembled molecules on the AA 2024-T3 aluminum alloy has been evaluated by electrochemical and non electrochemical techniques. The film was obtained by immersion of this alloy samples in a solution of 90 mg L-1 alkane-diphosphonate at 50 °C for 5 minutes. Chromating conversion treatment with trivalent or hexavalent chromium was carried out by immersion of AA 2024-T3 alloy samples for 2 minutes in a 20% (v/v) solution of 650 Chromical TCP (SurTec) at 40 °C. Electrochemical characterization was performed by measurements of the open circuit potential (OCP), potentiodynamic polarization curves (PPC) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in a solution of 0.5 mol L-1 sodium sulfate buffered with a solution of biphthalate potassium (0.1 mol L-1) and sodium hydroxide (0.1 mol L-1) as the electrolyte. SAM films obtained were analysed by infrared spectroscopy and SAM was found in surface. Surface observation by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the trivalent chromium layers ere deposited on metal surface. The results show that the surface treatment with self-assembled molecules provides protection against corrosion of the AA 2024-T3 aluminum alloy.

A adsorção das substâncias orgânicas nos metais, em diferentes meios, tem sido atribuída a diferentes efeitos, tais como: tamanho da cadeia carbônica, tipo ou número de heteroátomo presente na estrutura da molécula, reatividade, efeito estérico, entre outros. O objetivo desse trabalho é estudar o comportamento eletroquímico do Indol (C8H7N), para o aço inoxidável AISI 430, quando se muda o meio de estudo de H2SO4 1 mol L-1 para HCl 1 mol L-1. Experimentalmente foram empregadas as técnicas seguintes: medida de potencial de circuito aberto, curvas de polarização potenciodinâmica anódica e catódica, espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica, microscopia óptica e eletrônica de varredura. Esses resultados sugerem que a adsorção do indol, em presença de SO4-2, é menor em relação ao meio que contem íons Cl-, fato justificado pela ação do indol como ácido fraco, pois o mesmo possui apenas um único par de elétrons, o qual é deslocado e participa do sistema π-elétron aromático. Dessa forma, a primeira etapa da reação do indol, em meio ácido, é a protonação e a geração de um indol cátion.

The adsorption of organic substances in metals and in different media has been attributed to different effects, such as the carbon chain size, type or number of heteroatom in the molecule structure, reactivity, the steric effect, among others. The objective of this work is to study the electrochemical indole behavior for AISI 430 stainless steel (SS), when changing the study media from H2SO4 1 mol L-1 to HCl 1 mol L-1. The experimental techniques used are as follows: the open-circuit potential, anodic and cathodic potentiodinamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. These results suggest that the adsorption of indole in the presence of SO4-2 is lower than in the medium containing Cl-, which is justified by the indole action as a weak acid, because it has only a single pair of electrons, which is displaced and takes part in the π-electron aromatic system; thus the first step of the indole reaction in acid media is the protonation and generation of an indole cation.

As moléculas auto-organizáveis (SAM - Self Assembly Monolayer) são inibidoras de corrosão, devido à capacidade de se organizarem sobre superfícies formando filmes finos. A SAM apresenta elevada afinidade pelo óxido formado sobre o alumínio, porém as interações entre a camada de óxido e as SAM nem sempre são satisfatórias, pois o óxido formado na superfície apresenta heterogeneidades, que interferem na formação do filme de SAM. O objetivo desse trabalho foi estudar a proteção à corrosão do alumínio AA 2024-T3 associada ao SAM, após tratamento com desengraxante alcalino. A caracterização eletroquímica foi realizada por espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica e polarização potenciodinâmica anódica em meio de Na2SO4 0,5 mol. L-1 em pH 4,0. A morfologia superficial foi investigada por microscopia óptica. Os resultados mostraram que as SAM promoveram maior proteção do alumínio, quando este foi pré-tratado com o desengraxante.

Self-assembly molecules (SAM - Self Assembly Monolayer) are corrosion inhibitors, due to their capacity to organize on surfaces, forming thin films. SAM presents a high affinity to aluminum oxide. However, the interactions between the oxide layer and SAM are not always satisfactory; therefore the oxide formed on the surface presents heterogeneities that hinder SAM film formation. The aim of this work was to study the corrosion protection of aluminum AA 2024-T3 associated with SAM, after treatment with alkaline degreasing. The electrochemical characterization was carried out by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and anodic potentiodynamic polarization in Na2SO4 0,5 mol.L-1 in pH 4,0. The superficial morphology was investigated by optic microscopy. The results showed that SAM promoted greater aluminum protection when this was pretreated with degreasing.

Aminoácidos e moléculas auto-organizáveis vêm sendo largamente estudados na ação inibidora da corrosão de materiais metálicos. Esse trabalho tem como objetivo estudar o comportamento eletroquímico da cisteína, do difosfonato e da mistura de ambos na ação inibidora da corrosão do aço inoxidável 304 em HCl 1M. Foram empregadas como técnicas: potencial de circuito aberto, polarização anódica potenciostática (PA), cronoamperometria (CA), espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica (EIE) e microscopia óptica (MO). Os resultados de CA mostraram que a cisteína tem um efeito dúbio, catalisador e inibidor de corrosão, efeito este em função do tempo de imersão da peça metálica na solução eletrolítica. As curvas PA mostraram menor densidade de corrente para o sistema contendo cisteína + difosfonato, sugerindo uma ação sinérgica inibidora. Esses resultados foram confirmados por EIE e MO.

Amino acids and self assembled monolayers (SAM's) have been studied as to their inhibiting action on the corrosion of metallic materials. The objective of this work is to study the electrochemical behavior of the cisteincisteine, the diphosfonate and the mixture of both in inhibiting the action of corrosion on stainless steel 304 in HCl 1 molL-1. As the following techniques were used: open circuit potential (OCP), potenciostatic anodic polarization (AP), chronoamperometry (CA), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and optical microscopy (OM). The results of CA showed that cisteine has a double effect, catalytic and inhibiting, in function of the immersion time of the metallic part in the electrolytic solution. AP curves have shown lesser current density for the system containing cisteine + diphosfonate, suggesting an inhibiting synergic action. These results have been confirmed by EIS and OM.