High-efficient Electrochemical Betavoltaic Cell Using ZrO2 Modified TiO2 Nanorod Arrays

This paper presents a novel and high-efficient EBC based on free-standing TNRAs sensitized with ZrO ₂ . A sandwich type electrochemical betavoltaic cell (EBC) was assembled using a 10 mCi of ⁶³ Ni/Ni planar sheet as the counter electrode, ZrO ₂ /Ar-TNRAs/FTO as working electrode filled by acetonitrile electrolyte containing I ^- /I ₃ ^- ions. The EBCs demonstrate an effective betavoltaic effect with open-circuit voltage of 0.276 V, short-circuit current density of 1.041 μA·cm ^-2 and the energy conversion efficiency of 9.27%. The experimental results indicate that the interface electrochemical reaction can effectively enhance betavoltaic effect.