Carbon Nanomaterials for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cell Applications: A Bright Future

Abstract

There is an urgent need for alternative energy resources due to the rapid rise in the price of fossil fuels and the great danger of the increasing greenhouse effect caused by carbon dioxide emission. Sunlight provides by far the largest of all carbon-neutral energy sources. Therefore, the current solar-or photovoltaic-cell-based technologies, which can utilize solar energy, are of extreme importance. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are of particular interest because they can offer a number of advantages when compared to existing photovoltaic technologies. In this review, recent advances in carbonrelated nanomaterials and their application as materials for DSSCs are discussed. Carbon nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene display remarkable electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties that enable several exciting applications in DSSCs. The progress on the utilisation of carbon nanotubes, graphene, and their nanocomposites is reviewed as highly prospective materials to replace transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layers and counter electrodes in DSSCs. Moreover, carbon nanomaterials enable improvement of the performance of absorbing layers in working photoanodes by enhancing the light absorption and electron transport across the semiconducting nanostructured fi lm. The application of carbon nanotubes, graphite particles, and graphene as additives towards the improved effi ciency of the electrolyte in these solar cells is also discussed. Finally, a brief outlook is provided on the future development of carbon nanomaterial composites as prospective materials for DSSCs, particularly as components for printable solar cells, which are expected to play an important role in the future solarcell market.

Carbon-Based Metal-Free Electrocatalysis for Energy Conversion, Energy Storage, and Environmental Protection

“…Solar cells, especially dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), are cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and highly efficient energy conversion systems. Thus, solar cells are of vital importance among all other green and renewable energy technologies [192,193]. A conventional DSSC is composed of a photoanode sensitized by a dye, an electrolyte containing a redox couple (e.g., triiodide/iodide), and a Pt-based counter electrode (CE) [193].…”

“…Thus, solar cells are of vital importance among all other green and renewable energy technologies [192,193]. A conventional DSSC is composed of a photoanode sensitized by a dye, an electrolyte containing a redox couple (e.g., triiodide/iodide), and a Pt-based counter electrode (CE) [193]. As alternatives for Pt-based catalysts, metal-free heteroatom-doped carbon catalysts have been demonstrated to be effective at catalyzing the reduction of I 3 − to I − in DSSCs [32,33].…”

The optimisation of dye sensitised solar cell working electrodes for graphene and SWCNTs containing quasi-solid state electrolytes

“…Other papers reported increased power conversion efficiencies after the incorporation of various carbon (e.g. carbon nanotubes or CNT) based materials into ionic liquid electrolytes/DSSCs (Brennan et al, 2011;Lee et al, 2010b;Usui et al, 2004) to form promising quasi-solid state electrolytes. However, the addition of graphene or carbon nanotubes to ionic liquids leads to an increase of viscosity of the electrolyte that results in the limited penetration into thick sensitised porous TiO 2 layers of working electrode (Ahmad et al, 2011).…”

Review—Single-Walled Carbon Nanohorn-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

“…Secondly, hole transport materials (HTMs) 118 119,120 Finally, the integration of nanocarbons, such as CB, 121,122 SWCNTs as well as MWCNTs, 123,124 and graphene 125 as additives to iodinefree and solid-state electrolytes constitutes a viable strategy to realize ssDSSCs. 21,126 The benefits of implementing nanocarbons into solidstate electrolytes stand out given their significant improvement of the ionic diffusivity, their catalytic activity toward the reduction of the oxidized form of the electrolyte, and the reduction of the internal resistance of the bulk electrolyte. .…”