scholarly journals Tellurium-Doped, Mesoporous Carbon Nanomaterials as Transparent Metal-Free Counter Electrodes for High-Performance Bifacial Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Nanomaterials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Ki Kim ◽  
Jung-Min Ji ◽  
Haoran Zhou ◽  
Chunyuan Lu ◽  
Hwan Kyu Kim
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Electrocatalytic Activity ◽  
Mesoporous Carbon ◽  
Carbon Nanomaterials ◽  
Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽  
Counter Electrodes ◽  
High Doping Level ◽  
Dye Sensitized ◽  
Sensitized Solar Cells

Tellurium-doped, mesoporous carbon nanomaterials with a relatively high doping level were prepared by a simple stabilization and carbonization method in the presence of a tellurium metalloid. A transparent counter electrode (CE) was prepared using tellurium-doped, mesoporous carbon (TeMC) materials, and was directly applied to bifacial, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). To improve the performance of the bifacial DSSC device, CEs should have outstanding electrocatalytic activity, electrical conductivity, and electrochemical stability, as well as high transparency. In this study, to make transparent electrodes with outstanding electrocatalytic activity and electrical conductivity, various TeMC materials with different carbonization temperatures were prepared by simple pyrolysis of the polyacrylonitrile-block-poly (n-butyl acrylate) (PAN-b-PBA) block copolymer in the presence of the tellurium metalloid. The electrocatalytic activity of the prepared TeMC materials were evaluated through a dummy cell test, and the material with the best catalytic ability was selected and optimized for application in bifacial DSSC devices by controlling the film thickness of the CE. As a result, the bifacial DSSC devices with the TeMC CE exhibited high power conversion efficiencies (PCE), i.e., 9.43% and 8.06% under front and rear side irradiation, respectively, which are the highest values reported for bifacial DSSCs to date. Based on these results, newly-developed transparent, carbon-based electrodes may lead to more stable and effective bifacial DSSC development without sacrificing the photovoltaic performance of the DSSC device.

scholarly journals Synergetic Effects of Hybrid Carbon Nanostructured Counter Electrodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: A Review

Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manas R. Samantaray ◽  
Abhay Kumar Mondal ◽  
Govindhasamy Murugadoss ◽  
Sudhagar Pitchaimuthu ◽  
Santanu Das ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Carbon Nanomaterials ◽  
Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽  
Liquid Electrolyte ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Counter Electrodes ◽  
Dye Sensitized ◽  
Sensitized Solar Cells ◽  
Hybrid Carbon ◽  
Carbon Based

This article provides an overview of the structural and physicochemical properties of stable carbon-based nanomaterials and their applications as counter electrodes (CEs) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The research community has long sought to harvest highly efficient third-generation DSSCs by developing carbon-based CEs, which are among the most important components of DSSCs. Since the initial introduction of DSSCs, Pt-based electrodes have been commonly used as CEs owing to their high-electrocatalytic activities, thus, accelerating the redox couple at the electrode/electrolyte interface to complete the circuit. However, Pt-based electrodes have several limitations due to their cost, abundance, complicated facility, and low corrosion resistance in a liquid electrolyte, which further restricts the large-area applications of DSSCs. Although carbon-based nanostructures showed the best potential to replace Pt-CE of DSSC, several new properties and characteristics of carbon-CE have been reported for future enhancements in this field. In this review, we discuss the detailed synthesis, properties, and performances of various carbonaceous materials proposed for DSSC-CE. These nano-carbon materials include carbon nanoparticles, activated carbon, carbon nanofibers, carbon nanotube, two-dimensional graphene, and hybrid carbon material composites. Among the CE materials currently available, carbon-carbon hybridized electrodes show the best performance efficiency (up to 10.05%) with a high fill factor (83%). Indeed, up to 8.23% improvements in cell efficiency may be achieved by a carbon-metal hybrid material under sun condition. This review then provides guidance on how to choose appropriate carbon nanomaterials to improve the performance of CEs used in DSSCs.

Electrospun NiCo2S4 with extraordinary electrocatalytic activity as counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 3579-3588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenle Zhang ◽  
Libo Deng ◽  
Peixin Zhang ◽  
Xiangzhong Ren ◽  
Yongliang Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Electrocatalytic Activity ◽  
Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽  
Counter Electrodes ◽  
Dye Sensitized ◽  
Sensitized Solar Cells

scholarly journals Cobalt and Carbon Complex as Counter Electrodes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Photonics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Chi-Feng Lin ◽  
Ting-Hsuan Hsieh ◽  
Yu-Chen Chou ◽  
Pin-Hung Chen ◽  
Ci-Wun Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Counter Electrodes ◽  
Dye Sensitized ◽  
Thermal Sintering ◽  
Sensitized Solar Cells

We developed cobalt and carbon complex materials as counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) to replace conventional platinum (Pt) CEs. Co12 and Co15, both of which are basic cobalt derivatives, showed good redox potential with a suitable open-circuit voltage (VOC); however, their poor electrical conductivity engendered a low short-circuit current (JSC) and fill factor (FF). Mixing them with carbon black (CB) improved the electrical conductivity of the CE; in particular, JSC and FF were considerably improved. Further improvement was achieved by combining cobalt derivatives and CB through thermal sintering to produce a novel CoCB material as a CE. CoCB had good electrical conductivity and electrocatalytic capability, and this further enhanced both JSC and VOC. The optimized device exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.44%, which was higher than the value of 7.16% for a device with a conventional Pt CE. The conductivity of CoCB could be further increased by mixing it with PEDOT:PSS, a conducting polymer. The device’s JSC increased to 18.65 mA/cm2, which was considerably higher than the value of 14.24 mA/cm2 for the device with Pt CEs. The results demonstrate the potential of the cobalt and carbon complex as a CE for DSSCs.

scholarly journals Self-Assembly Synthesis of the MoS2/PtCo Alloy Counter Electrodes for High-Efficiency and Stable Low-Cost Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi Zeng ◽  
Dongbo Wang ◽  
Jinzhong Wang ◽  
Shujie Jiao ◽  
Yuewu Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Electrocatalytic Activity ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Electrochemical Impedance ◽  
Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽  
Counter Electrodes ◽  
Transfer Resistance ◽  
Dye Sensitized ◽  
Sensitized Solar Cells ◽  
Ptco Alloy

In this work, MoS2 microspheres/PtCo-alloy nanoparticles (MoS2/PtCo-alloy NPs) were composited via a novel and facile process which MoS2 is functionalized by poly (N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) and self-assembled with PtCo-alloy NPs. This new composite shows excellent electrocatalytic activity and great potential for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as a counter electrode (CE) material. Benefiting from heterostructure and synergistic effects, the MoS2/PtCo-alloy NPs exhibit high electrocatalytic activity, low charge-transfer resistance and stability in the cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) test. Meanwhile, a high power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.46% is achieved in DSSCs with MoS2/PtCo-alloy NP CEs, which are comparable to traditional Pt CEs (8.45%). This novel composite provides a new high-performance, stable and cheap choice for CEs in DSSCs.

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