Authors
Marwa Ennouri, Jan Svoboda, Zuzana Morávková, Jiřina Hromádková, Elena Tomsik
Published in
Nanoscale. Sep 15, 2025. Epub Sep 15, 2025.
Abstract
Simultaneous harvesting of sunlight and storing its energy in optoelectronic devices is a scientific challenge. The current work pursues two main goals: (1) to understand the interaction of erbium ions with stable PANI quantum dots (QD, 8 nm), obtained by acid-assisted polymerization method, and (2) to investigate the potential application of Er-PANI:PSS composite as a next-generation energy storage system. PANI QD of 8 nm size is synthesized for the first time, stabilized by PSS and decorated with Er3+ ions. FTIR and XPS analyses confirm that no direct erbium-PANI coordination is observed; nevertheless, PANI is likely present in the second coordination sphere of the erbium complex, potentially enabling energy transfer between the PANI π-system and Er3+ ions. CV and LSV measurements show that the incorporation of Er3+ ions into the composite leads to a marked improvement in electrochemical performance. A further enhancement in areal current was achieved under light irradiation, particularly when using a 655 nm LED, which corresponds to one of the most intense regions of the solar spectrum. The enhanced photoelectrochemical activity is attributed to a synergistic mechanism involving photo-assisted PANI protonation and Er3+-mediated charge storage, where Er3+ ions create new redox states and facilitate efficient outer-sphere electron transfer, stabilizing charge carriers and boosting photocurrent generation. These findings highlight the promise of Er-PANI:PSS composite for integrated solar energy harvesting and storage technologies.
PMID:
40952675
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 15 Sep 2025.
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