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Results for “MOLYBDENUM OXIDES”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Molybdenum oxide and molybdenum oxide-nitride back contacts for CdTe solar cells

Molybdenum oxide (MoO{sub x}) and molybdenum oxynitride (MoON) thin film back contacts were formed by a unique ion-beam sputtering and ion-beam-assisted deposition process onto CdTe solar cells and compared to back contacts made using carbon–nickel (C/Ni) paint. Glancing-incidence x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show that partially crystalline MoO{sub x} films are created with a mixture of Mo, MoO{sub 2}, and MoO{sub 3} components. Lower crystallinity content is observed in the MoON films, with an additional component of molybdenum nitride present. Three different film thicknesses of MoO{sub x} and MoON were investigated that were capped in situ in Ni. Small area devices were delineated and characterized using current–voltage (J-V), capacitance–frequency, capacitance–voltage, electroluminescence, and light beam-induced current techniques. In addition, J-V data measured as a function of temperature (JVT) were used to estimate back barrier heights for each thickness of MoO{sub x} and MoON and for the C/Ni paint. Characterization prior to stressing indicated the devices were similar in performance. Characterization after stress testing indicated little change to cells with 120 and 180-nm thick MoO{sub x} and MoON films. However, moderate-to-large cell degradation was observed for 60-nm thick MoO{sub x} and MoON films and for C/Ni painted back contacts.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Vapor deposition of molybdenum oxide using bis(ethylbenzene) molybdenum and water

Three molybdenum precursors—bis(acetylacetonate) dioxomolybdenum, molybdenum isopropoxide, and bis(ethylbenzene) molybdenum—were tested for molybdenum oxide vapor deposition. Quartz crystal microbalance studies were performed to monitor growth. Molybdenum isopropoxide and bis(ethylbenzene) molybdenum achieved linear growth rates 0.01 and 0.08 Å/cycle, respectively, using atomic layer deposition techniques. Negligible MoO{sub x} growth was observed on alumina powder using molybdenum isopropoxide, as determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Bis(ethylbenzene) molybdenum achieved loadings of 0.5, 1.1, and 1.9 Mo/nm{sup 2} on alumina powder after one, two, and five cycles, respectively, using atomic layer deposition techniques. The growth window for bis(ethylbenzene) molybdenum is 135–150 °C. An alternative pulsing strategy was also developed for bis(ethylbenzene) molybdenum that results in higher growth rates in less time compared to atomic layer deposition techniques. The outlined process serves as a methodology for depositing molybdenum oxide for catalytic applications. All as-deposited materials undergo further calcination prior to characterization and testing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

22.5% efficient silicon heterojunction solar cell with molybdenum oxide hole collector

Substituting the doped amorphous silicon films at the front of silicon heterojunction solar cells with wide-bandgap transition metal oxides can mitigate parasitic light absorption losses. This was recently proven by replacing p-type amorphous silicon with molybdenum oxide films. In this article, we evidence that annealing above 130 °C—often needed for the curing of printed metal contacts—detrimentally impacts hole collection of such devices. We circumvent this issue by using electrodeposited copper front metallization and demonstrate a silicon heterojunction solar cell with molybdenum oxide hole collector, featuring a fill factor value higher than 80% and certified energy conversion efficiency of 22.5%.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2012

Low-Temperature, Solution-Processed Molybdenum Oxide Hole-Collection Layer for Organic Photovoltaics

We have utilized a commercially available metal-organic precursor to develop a new, low-temperature, solution-processed molybdenum oxide (MoO{sub x}) hole-collection layer (HCL) for organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices that is compatible with high-throughput roll-to-roll manufacturing. Thermogravimetric analysis indicates complete decomposition of the metal-organic precursor by 115 C in air. Acetonitrile solutions spin-cast in a N{sub 2} atmosphere and annealed in air yield continuous thin films of MoO{sub x}. Ultraviolet, inverse, and X-ray photoemission spectroscopies confirm the formation of MoO{sub x} and, along with Kelvin probe measurements, provide detailed information about the energetics of the MoO{sub x} thin films. Incorporation of these films into conventional architecture bulk heterojunction OPV devices with poly(3-hexylthiophene) and [6,6]-phenyl-C{sub 61} butyric acid methyl ester afford comparable power conversion efficiencies to those obtained with the industry-standard material for hole injection and collection: poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The MoO{sub x} HCL devices exhibit slightly reduced open circuit voltages and short circuit current densities with respect to the PEDOT:PSS HCL devices, likely due in part to charge recombination at Mo{sup 5+} gap states in the MoO{sub x} HCL, and demonstrate enhanced fill factors due to reduced series resistance in the MoO{sub x} HCL.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Electronic structure of molybdenum-oxide films and associated charge injection mechanisms in organic devices

We report on the electronic structure of freshly evaporated and air-exposed Molybdenum tri-oxide (MoO 3 ) and the energy-level alignment between this compound and a hole-transport material [e.g., N,N'-diphenyl-N,N'-bis (1-naphthyl)-1,1'-biphenyl-4,4'-diamine (α-NPD)]. Ultraviolet and inverse photoelectron spectroscopy show that freshly evaporated MoO 3 exhibits deep-lying electronic states with an electron affinity (EA) of 6.7 eV and ionization energy (IE) of 9.7 eV. Air exposure reduces EA and IE by ~1 eV, to 5.5 and 8.6 eV, respectively, but does not affect the hole-injection efficiency, which is confirmed by device studies. Thus, MoO 3 can be applied in low-vacuum environment, which is particularly important for low-cost manufacturing processes. Our findings of the energy-level alignment between MoO 3 and α-NPD also leads to a revised interpretation of the charge-injection mechanism, whereby the hole-injection corresponds to an electron extraction from the organic highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level via the MoO 3 conduction band.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Aluminum Oxide Passivating Tunneling Interlayers for Molybdenum Oxide Hole-Selective Contacts

Aluminum oxide thin films fabricated via atomic layer deposition are introduced as passivating tunneling interlayers between hole-selective molybdenum oxide contacts and silicon absorbers. Surface recombination velocity and specific contact resistivity are reported as a function of Al 2 O 3 thickness. The effects of substrate chemical pretreatment, the thermal history of the Al 2 O 3 layers prior to MoOx deposition, and the thermal history of the completed Al 2 O 3 /MoO x stacks were also investigated. When an SiO x /Al 2 O 3 passivating stack was incorporated and the completed test structure was annealed at 200 °C, the observed recombination velocities were reduced from ~10 000 cm/s for an unpassivated (initially hydrogen-terminated) Si/MoO x direct contact to ~500 cm/s, while maintaining a contact resistivity at or below 0.1 Ω·cm 2 . Finally, the data demonstrate the capability of ultrathin Al 2 O 3 to improve Si/MoO x contact properties and may be of interest in the design of future Si heterojunctions.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Characterization of reactively sputtered molybdenum oxide films for solar cell application

Molybdenum oxide (MoO{sub 3}) thin films were prepared via Radio Frequency (RF) sputtering at different ambient composition and post-deposition annealing. The effects on the structural, optical, and surface properties of the deposited films were investigated. The ambient oxygen concentration O{sub 2}/(O{sub 2} + Ar) was varied from 10% to 100% at 10 mTorr. Post deposition anneals were performed in Ar at 300-500 Degree-Sign C. The films were analyzed using glancing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD), UV/Vis/NIR spectrophotometry, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). As-deposited films have amorphous structures, independent of the oxygen partial pressure. Annealing at 300 Degree-Sign C in air resulted in crystallization of the molybdenum oxide films to the monoclinic {beta}-MoO{sub 3} phase. Samples annealed at 400 and 500 Degree-Sign C were identified as pure orthorhombic {alpha}-MoO{sub 3} phase with (020) preferred orientation. High resolution XPS studies showed the presence of Mo{sup 6+} (MoO{sub 3}) and Mo{sup 5+} (Mo{sub 4}O{sub 11}) oxidation states at the surface of as deposited and low temperature (300 Degree-Sign C) annealed films, and the Mo{sup 6+} to Mo{sup 5+} did not change much with deposition oxygen partial pressure. Annealing at 400-500 Degree-Sign C suppressed the oxygen deficiency at the surface, resulting in films with composition close to stoichiometric phases. UV/Vis/NIR spectrophotometry revealed that all films have a high optical transmittance (>80%) in the visible range, followed by a steep drop at {lambda} Almost-Equal-To 400 nm indicating a strong absorption due to band-to-band transition. Increasing the oxygen partial pressure had no significant effect on optical transmittance of the films, and the bandgaps in the range of 2.6 eV to 2.9 eV were obtained. Annealing at 300 Degree-Sign C had a negligible effect on the optical properties of the MoO{sub 3} films, but samples annealed at 400 Degree-Sign C and 500 Degree-Sign C exhibited wider bandgaps within the range of 3.1-3.4 eV.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Reduction-Triggered Self-Assembly of Nanoscale Molybdenum Oxide Molecular Clusters

A 2.9 nm molybdenum oxide cluster {Mo 132 } (Formula: [Mo VI 72 Mo V 60 O 372 (CH 3 COO) 30 (H 2 O) 72 ] 42- ) can be obtained by reducing ammonium molybdate with hydrazine sulfate in weakly acidic CH 3 COOH/CH 3 COO- buffers. This reaction has been monitored by time-resolved UV-Vis, 1H-NMR, small angle X-ray/neutron scattering, and X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy. The growth of {Mo 132 } cluster shows a typical sigmoid curve, suggesting a multi-step assembly mechanism for this reaction. The reaction starts with a lag phase period when partial MoVI centers of molybdate precursors are reduced to form {MoV2(acetate)} structures under the coordination effect of the acetate groups. Once the concentration of {Mo V 2 (acetate)} reaches a critical value, it triggers the assembly of Mo V and Mo VI species into {Mo 132 } clusters. Parameters such as the type and amount of reducing agent, the pH, the type of cation, and the type of organic ligand in the reaction buffer, have been studied for the roles they play in the formation of the target clusters.Understanding the formation mechanism of giant molecular clusters is essential for rational design and synthesis of cluster-based nanomaterials with required morphologies and functionalities. Here, typical synthetic reactions of a 2.9 nm spherical molybdenum oxide cluster, {Mo 132 } (formula: [Mo VI 72 Mo V 60 O 372 (CH 3 COO) 30 (H 2 O) 72 ] 42 ), with systematically varied reaction parameters have been fully explored to determine the morphologies and concentration of products, reduction of metal centers, and chemical environments of the organic ligands. The growth of these clusters shows a typical sigmoid curve, suggesting a general multistep self-assembly mechanism for the formation of giant molecular clusters. The reaction starts with a lag phase period when partial MoVI centers of molybdate precursors are reduced to form {Mo V 2 (acetate)} structures under the coordination effect of the acetate groups. Once the concentration of {MoV2(acetate)} reaches a critical value, it triggers the co-assembly of Mo V and Mo VI species into the giant clusters.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Molybdenum oxide nanocubes: Synthesis and characterizations

Molybdenum oxide nanoparticles were prepared by Solid state synthesis. The MoO{sub 3} nanoparticles were synthesized by using commercially available ammonium heptamolybdate. The XRD pattern reveals that the synthesized MoO{sub 3} has orthorhombic structure. In addition, lattice parameter values were also calculated using XRD data. The Raman analysis confirm the presence of Mo-O in MoO{sub 3} nanoparticles. DRS-UV analysis shows that MoO{sub 3} has a band gap of 2.89 eV. FE-SEM analysis confirms the material morphology in cubes with nano scale.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Structural and morphological properties of mesoporous carbon coated molybdenum oxide films

In the present study, we report the structural and morphological properties of mesoporous carbon coated molybdenum oxide films. The deposition of films was carried out in a two-step process, the first step involves deposition of molybdenum and carbon bilayer thin films using DC magnetron sputtering. In the second step the sample was ex-situ annealed in a muffle furnace at different temperatures (400°C to 600°C) and air cooled in the ambient atmosphere. The formation of the meso-porous carbon clusters on molybdenum oxide during the cooling step was investigated using FESEM and AFM techniques. The structural details were explored using XRD. The meso-porous carbon were found growing over molybdenum oxide layer as a result of segregation phenomena.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Structure analysis of supported disordered molybdenum oxides using pair distribution function analysis and automated cluster modelling

Molybdenum oxides and sulfides on various low-cost high-surface-area supports are excellent catalysts for several industrially relevant reactions. The surface layer structure of these materials is, however, difficult to characterize due to small and disordered MoO x domains. Here, it is shown how X-ray total scattering can be applied to gain insights into the structure through differential pair distribution function (d-PDF) analysis, where the scattering signal from the support material is subtracted to obtain structural information on the supported structure. MoO x catalysts supported on alumina nanoparticles and on zeolites are investigated, and it is shown that the structure of the hydrated molybdenum oxide layer is closely related to that of disordered and polydisperse polyoxometalates. By analysing the PDFs with a large number of automatically generated cluster structures, which are constructed in an iterative manner from known polyoxometalate clusters, information is derived on the structural motifs in supported MoO x .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Molybdenum oxide and sulfide active sites for isobutane dehydrogenation with methanol as a probe molecule

Molybdenum oxides and sulfides are alternative catalysts for several reactions, including alkane dehydrogenation. Correlations have been developed between reactivity and structure, but it is difficult to compare different catalysts without determining numbers of active sites. Here, methanol temperature programmed surface reaction (TPSR) is applied to bulk MoS 2 and a series of supported molybdenum oxides and sulfides used for isobutane dehydrogenation. Rates and deactivation behavior are similar between supported molybdenum oxides and sulfides. Coking increases with loading and correlates well with the fraction of Mo-based CO 2 -forming sites from methanol TPSR. Normalizing isobutane dehydrogenation rates by formaldehyde-forming sites unifies rates over oxide and sulfide materials. Further, these measurements confirm earlier hypotheses that MoS 2 and higher loadings of oxides and sulfides are intrinsically fast catalysts, but they have few active sites and are prone to coking. In general, methanol TPSR is proposed as an accessible route to count sites on both supported oxides and sulfides.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Selective oxidation and oxidative dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons on bismuth vanadium molybdenum oxide

A systematic investigation of the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to propene and 1- and 2-butene to 1,3-butadiene, and the selective oxidation of isobutene to methacrolein was carried out over Bi 1- x /3V 1- x Mo x O 4 ( x = 0-1) with the aim of defining the effects of catalyst and reactant composition on the reaction kinetics. This work has revealed that the reaction kinetics can differ significantly depending on the state of catalyst oxidation, which in turn depends on the catalyst composition and the reaction conditions. Under conditions where the catalyst is fully oxidized, the kinetics for the oxidation of propene to acrolein and isobutene to methacrolein, and the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to propene, 1-butene and trans-2-butene to butadiene are very similar - first order in the partial pressure of the alkane or alkene and zero order in the partial pressure of oxygen. These observations, together with XANES and UV-Vis data, suggest that all these reactions proceed via a Mars van Krevelen mechanism involving oxygen atoms in the catalysts and that the rate-limiting step involves cleavage of the weakest C-H bond in the reactant. Consistent with these findings, the apparent activation energy and pre-exponential factor for both oxidative dehydrogenation and selective oxidation correlate with the dissociation energy of the weakest C-H bond in the reactant. As the reaction temperature is lowered, catalyst reoxidation can become rate-limiting, the transition to this regime depending on ease of catalyst reduction and effectiveness of the reacting hydrocarbons as a reducing agent. Here, a third regime is observed for isobutene oxidation at lower temperatures, in which the catalyst is more severely reduced and oxidation now proceeds via reaction of molecular oxygen, rather than catalyst lattice oxygen, with the reactant.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy Study of Molybdenum Oxide Contacts for Silicon Solar Cells

Here, a molybdenum oxide (MoO x ) and aluminum (Al) contact structure for crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells is investigated using a combination of transmission line measurements (TLM) and in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cross-sectional high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) micrographs reveal a ≈2 nm silicon oxide (SiO x ) interlayer at c-Si/MoO x interface in the as-deposited state, indicating that formation of SiO x occurs during deposition of MoO x . Moreover, oxygen diffusion takes place from MoO x toward Al resulting in the formation of a ≈2–3 nm aluminum oxide (AlO x ) interlayer at the MoO x /Al interface. Overall, it is observed that MoO x /Al contact is relatively stable upon annealing up to 200 °C and still retains ohmic transport with sufficiently low contact resistivity.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Improvement of electrical and optical properties of molybdenum oxide thin films by ultralow pressure sputtering method

In this work, we investigated the structural, electrical and optical properties of molybdenum oxide thin films deposited by the reactive dc magnetron sputtering method. The molybdenum oxide films were prepared at sputtering pressures ranging from 6.7 x 10{sup -1} to 6.7 x 10{sup -2} Pa. In order to promote their electrical conductivity, all the deposited MoO{sub x} films were annealed in Ar ambient at 450 deg. C for 8 h. The resistivity of the MoO{sub x} films varied from 10{sup -4} to 10{sup -2}{Omega} cm depending on the O{sub 2} content in the sputtering ambient. The lowering of the resistivity of the MoO{sub 2} films was mainly attributed to the formation of a monoclinic MoO{sub 2} polycrystalline phase. As the sputtering pressure decreased, the content of monoclinic polycrystalline MoO{sub 2} phase increased, resulting in low resistivity films. The formation of the dominant MoO{sub 2} phase at lower sputtering pressures was attributed to the stress induced crystallization. The post-deposition annealed (PDA) MoO{sub x} film, deposited at an ultralow sputtering pressure (6.7 x 10{sup -2} Pa) and O{sub 2} content of 40%, had an atomic ratio of O to Mo {approx_equal} 2.85 and was highly transparent and conductive: the transmittance in the visible wavelength range of 400-500 nm was about 73% and the resistivity was 1.05 x 10{sup -3}{Omega} cm. This result is superior to those of MoO{sub x} films epitaxially grown by the pulse laser deposition method.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2010

Enhanced electrochromism in cerium doped molybdenum oxide thin films

Cerium (5-15% by weight) doped molybdenum oxide thin films have been prepared on FTO coated glass substrate at 250 {sup o}C using sol-gel dip coating method. The structural and morphological changes were observed with the help of XRD, SEM and EDS analysis. The amorphous structure of the Ce doped samples, favours easy intercalation and deintercalation processes. Mo oxide films with 10 wt.% of Ce exhibit maximum anodic diffusion coefficient of 24.99 x 10{sup -11} cm{sup 2}/s and the change in optical transmittance of ({Delta}T at 550 nm) of 79.28% between coloured and bleached state with the optical density of ({Delta}OD) 1.15.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗