A flexible carbon counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

Chen, Jikun; Li, Kexin; Luo, Yanhong; Guo, Xiaozhi; Li, Dongmei; Deng, Minghui; Huang, Shuqing; Meng, Qingbo

doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2009.05.028

Cited by 288 publications

(163 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…These electrodes were then assembled in a symmetric sandwich cell configuration, and the impedance measurements were taken at biases from 0 to 0.8 V. As seen in Figure 5, R CT initially decreases exponentially with increasing bias as expected due to faster kinetics at higher overpotential. The thicker the FGS 13 layer, the lower the resistance at low bias; however, the impedance for all thicknesses collapses to a single curve at high voltages. Meanwhile, N pores decreases only slightly with bias since I Ϫ and I 3 Ϫ are similar in size and carry equal charge.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…As detailed in the Experimental Methods Section, we fabricate FGS counter electrodes via thermolysis of surfactant and polymer in an FGSϪsurfactantϪpolymer network. Cells employing FGS 13 reach an efficiency () of 4.99%, which is more than 90% that of platinum-based cells ( ϭ 5.48%), where efficiency is defined as the cell's maximum power output divided by the input power from the . The fill factor (FF), the ratio of the maximum power obtainable in the device to the theoretical maximum power [FF ϭ (J* ϫ V*)/(J sc ϫ V oc ), where J* and V* are the current density and voltage, respectively, at the cell's maximum power output] is lower for the FGS 13 cells accounting for their lower efficiency.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Functionalized Graphene as a Catalytic Counter Electrode in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

et al. 2010

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When applied on the counter electrode of a dye-sensitized solar cell, functionalized graphene sheets with oxygen-containing sites perform comparably to platinum (conversion efficiencies of 5.0 and 5.5%, respectively, at 100 mW cm ؊2 AM1.5G simulated light). To interpret the catalytic activity of functionalized graphene sheets toward the reduction of triiodide, we propose a new electrochemical impedance spectroscopy equivalent circuit that matches the observed spectra features to the appropriate phenomena. Using cyclic voltammetry, we also show that tuning our material by increasing the amount of oxygen-containing functional groups can improve its apparent catalytic activity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a functionalized graphene sheet based ink can serve as a catalytic, flexible, electrically conductive counter electrode material.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functionalized Graphene as a Catalytic Counter Electrode in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

et al. 2010

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“…The bulk resistance, conductivity of a-Fe 2 O 3 and adhesive between a-Fe 2 O 3 and FTO substrate should be responsible for its higher R s . With respect to photovoltaic performance and EIS fitting data, it can be deduced that R ct of CEs is a major factor in the performance of DSCs, suggesting catalytic activity for triiodide reduction 30 . In Table 1, the R ct of a-Fe 2 O 3 is 2.3 O and this value is much smaller than the R ct of Pt (3.4 O), which may be one important cause that the energy-conversion efficiency of DSCs using a-Fe 2 O 3 CE is comparable to that of Pt CE.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rational screening low-cost counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

et al. 2013

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Dye-sensitized solar cells have attracted intense research attention owing to their ease of fabrication, cost-effectiveness and high efficiency in converting solar energy. Noble platinum is generally used as catalytic counter electrode for redox mediators in electrolyte solution. Unfortunately, platinum is expensive and non-sustainable for long-term applications. Therefore, researchers are facing with the challenge of developing low-cost and earthabundant alternatives. So far, rational screening of non-platinum counter electrodes has been hamstrung by the lack of understanding about the electrocatalytic process of redox mediators on various counter electrodes. Here, using first-principle quantum chemical calculations, we studied the electrocatalytic process of redox mediators and predicted electrocatalytic activity of potential semiconductor counter electrodes. On the basis of theoretical predictions, we successfully used rust (a-Fe 2 O 3 ) as a new counter electrode catalyst, which demonstrates promising electrocatalytic activity towards triiodide reduction at a rate comparable to platinum.

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“…Generally, the ways explored to improve the efficiency of DSSCs have focused on upgrading the components of the solar cell to enhance photovoltage (V OC ) by varying (a) the supporting oxide, (b) the electrolyte which stabilizes the solar cell, and (c) the dyes which enhance the photocurrent [4,5]. Carbon in DSC electrodes has gained attention recently, for instance, flexible C to complete with Pt:FTOs [6], C:TiO 2 for photocatalysis [7][8][9].…”

Section: Introduction: Efficiency Improvement Efforts On Dye Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Carbon Modification on the Electrical, Structural, and Optical Properties ofTiO2Electrodes and Their Performance in Labscale Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Taziwa

Meyer

Sideras‐Haddad

et al. 2012

International Journal of Photoenergy

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Carbon-modified titanium dioxide nanoparticles (C:TiO 2 NPs) have been synthesized by ultrasonic nebulizer spray pyrolysis (USP) and pneumatic spray pyrolysis (PSP) techniques. HRTEM on the NPs shows difference in lattice spacing in the NP structures prepared by the two methods-2.02Å for the USP NPs and an average of 3.74Å for the PSP NPs. The most probable particle sizes are 3.11 nm and 5.5 nm, respectively. Raman spectroscopy supported by FTIR confirms the TiO 2 polymorph to be anatase with the intense phonon frequency at 153 cm −1 blue-shifted from 141 cm −1 ascribed to both carbon doping and particle size. A modified phonon confinement model for nanoparticles has been used to extract phonon dispersion and other parameters for anatase for the first time. Electronic measurements show "negative conductance" at some critical bias voltage, which is characteristic of n-type conductivity in the carbon-doped TiO 2 NPs as confirmed by the calculated areas under the I-V curves, a property suited for solar cell applications. Practical solar cells built from carbon-doped TiO 2 electrodes show up to 1.5 times improvement in efficiency compared to pure TiO 2 electrodes of similar construction.

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A flexible carbon counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

Cited by 288 publications

References 29 publications

Functionalized Graphene as a Catalytic Counter Electrode in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Functionalized Graphene as a Catalytic Counter Electrode in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Rational screening low-cost counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Effect of Carbon Modification on the Electrical, Structural, and Optical Properties ofTiO2Electrodes and Their Performance in Labscale Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

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