2D‐Layered MoS₂‐Incorporated TiO₂‐Nanofiber‐ Based Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

Atomically thin layers of molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) were examined to facilitate electron transport in titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanofiber network for dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications. Raman active modes observed at 382 cm À1 and 406 cm À1 confirmed the presence of atomically thin MoS 2 in TiO 2 and transmission electron microscopic studies showed MoS 2 with a lattice spacing of 3.12 Å . DSSCs using MoS 2 incorporated TiO 2 nanofiber as a photo-anode resulted in 27% enhancement in photo-conversion efficiency (h) than that of the DSSC using only TiO 2 as an electron acceptor. A 26% enhancement in the short circuit current density (J SC ) achieved by incorporating 0.1 weight % of MoS 2 nanoflakes in the bulk of TiO 2 confirmed efficient electron transport achieved by suppressing the probability of electron-hole capture by TiO 2 surface states due to the additional electron transport pathways established by MoS 2 which facilitated the photo-generated electrons to reach the transparent electrode by skipping the TiO 2 surface states. Results suggest that further increase in the quantity of MoS 2 in TiO 2 impedes the electron transport in the bulk as observed with 7% and 38% reduction in h for 0.2 and 0.3 weight % of MoS 2 in TiO 2 . This suggests that the DSSC performance can be increased for an optimum concentration of MoS 2 in TiO 2 by establishing efficient transport pathways towards the transparent electrode.

The Applications of Polymers in Solar Cells: A Review

“…In order to solve above problem, the one-dimensional TiO 2 photoanodes (such as TiO 2 nanofibers and nanotubes) have been widely used in DSSCs due to their special feature: Directional electron transport along the fibers or tubes, and the reduced scattering effect [50]. The electrospinning method is initially used to fabricate the one-dimensional materials, including the one-dimensional TiO 2 .…”

Molybdenum Disulphide Heterointerfaces as Potential Materials for Solar Cells, Energy Storage, and Hydrogen Evolution

“…Insertion of MoS 2 in DSSC along with TiO 2 nanofiber has shown better efficiency than using TiO 2 alone as a counter electrode. The electron‐hole capture is suppressed even with the 0.1% presence of MoS 2, which results in the increase of V oc by 26% of what is observed in bare TiO 2 . MoS 2 /GO composite as the electrode for DSSCs has been studied by Pang et al.…”

Solid‐state Synthesis of Ni Decorated Needle Coke as Low‐cost Pt‐free Counter Electrode for Efficient Dye‐sensitized Solar Cells

“…[1] To convert sun light to electricity, many solar cells are explored by researchers, such as dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), Si based solar cells, perovskite solar cells, thin film solar cells, and so on, among which DSSCs is considered to be one of the most promising devices due to their great advantage of high lightto-electric conversion efficiency, easy fabrication, light weight, and low cost. [2][3][4][5][6] Generally, a DSSCs device consists of a platinum (Pt) counter electrode, a ruthenium dye N719 sensitized mesoscopic TiO 2 photoanode, and an electrolyte containing the I 3 À /I À redox couple. As a key component of DSSCs, counter electrode affords to catalyze the reduction of I 3 À to I À in electrolyte and collect the electrons from external circuit, ensuring dyes regeneration, resulting in higher performance for DSSCs.…”

“…With the exhausting supply and environmental pollution of traditional fossil energy, solar energy as a clean and renewable power resources has attained the most attention [1] . To convert sun light to electricity, many solar cells are explored by researchers, such as dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), Si based solar cells, perovskite solar cells, thin film solar cells, and so on, among which DSSCs is considered to be one of the most promising devices due to their great advantage of high light‐to‐electric conversion efficiency, easy fabrication, light weight, and low cost [2–6] . Generally, a DSSCs device consists of a platinum (Pt) counter electrode, a ruthenium dye N719 sensitized mesoscopic TiO 2 photoanode, and an electrolyte containing the I 3 − /I − redox couple.…”