A Novel Gadolinium-Holmium-Dysprosium Doped Tantalum Semiconductor System for Sustainable and Advanced Energy Applications

Abstract

This work reports the first study on sustainable [Gd/Ho/Dy] co-doped Ta2O5 semiconductor used in different microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Lanthanide ternary doping effectively narrowed the energy bandgap and reduced the crystallite size from 43.34 to 29.8 nm. With the improved surface area and stability, the fabricated electro-catalysts excelled in the production of oxygen and hydrogen with the over-potentials of 47 and 138 mV, respectively, with the pristine electro-catalyst yielding 52 and 150 mV, respectively. With the minimal resistance and favorable charge transport, the doped electro-catalysts exhibited candidacy for development in supercapacitors with impressive specific capacitance of 334 F g−1 exceeding the undoped Ta2O5 with 319.2 F g−1. The stability of the developed electro-catalysts was determined over the ambient conditions for 20 days in addition to the accelerated life service testing, showing the commendable thermo-chemical permanency and endurance. The electron extraction ability of [Gd/Ho/Dy] co-doped Ta2O5 based electron transport layer (ETL) was greater than the undoped ETL inside a perovskite solar cell showing 13.40% efficiency. Overall, the developed [Gd/Ho/Dy] co-doped Ta2O5 expressed potential for energy applications with good performance and stability.