Counter electrodes for DSC: Application of functional materials as catalysts

Murakami, Takurou N.; Grätzel, Michaël

doi:10.1016/j.ica.2007.09.025

Cited by 585 publications

(393 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In the modelling circuit used to mimic the EIS set up, the left semicircle consisting of R ct , C dl and Z w represents the CE 12,31 . Similar circuits have been used to model carbonaceous systems earlier 32 . C dl stands for the double-layer capacitance at the electrode/ electrolyte interface because of the accumulation of ions at the electrode surface.…”

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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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2013

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“…Historically DSCs employed the anode (made of n-type TiO 2 [11] or, less commonly, ZnO [18]) as the sole photoactive component of the solar cell. In this conventional configuration the cathode of the DSC is constituted by a transparent metallic conductor like fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) or indium-doped tin oxide (ITO), covered with metallic nanoparticles that act exclusively as electrocatalytic centres for the reduction of the oxidized form of the redox shuttle while preserving the optical transparency of the substrate [19]. In this context some authors suggested that the replacement of such photoelectrochemically inert cathodes with a p-type metal oxide rendered photoactive by dye-sensitization would have improved the performances of DSCs by enhancing the light conversion efficiency [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrochemical Characterization of Rapid Discharge Sintering (RDS) NiO Cathodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells of <i>p</i>-Type

Novelli¹,

Awais²,

Dowling³

et al. 2015

AJAC

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Nickel oxide (NiO) thin films with thickness ranging in the interval 0.2 -3.5 μm have been deposited onto conductive transparent substrate via the method of plasma-assisted rapid discharge sintering (RDS) with microwave heating starting from NiO nanoparticles with diameter 50 nm. The optical and electrochemical properties of the RDS NiO films in the pristine state were characterized in non aqueous electrolyte with the solvent 3-methoxy-propionitrile (3-MPN). Upon electrochemical cycling of NiO in 3-MPN we observed two characteristic oxidation peaks referring to the two nickel centred processes Ni(II)→Ni(III) and Ni(III)→Ni(IV), which are both localized prevalently on the surface of the metallic oxide. The oxide films prepared with the RDS method were also sensitized with different types of commercial dyes, either organometallic (N719, black dye) or organic (squaraine 2, erythrosine B), to compare the corresponding p-type dye-sensitized solar cells (p-DSCs). All dyes here employed matched the energies of their frontier orbitals with the upper edge of NiO valence band and the redox level of the triiodide/iodide couple. The comparison of the performances of the p-DSCs based on RDS NiO which differed exclusively for the nature of the sensitizer showed that the extent of electronic conjugation in the structure of the dye is crucial for the control of the photovoltaic performance of the corresponding p-DSC.

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“…Alternatively, other materials than Pt, processed at low temperature (<150 °C) could be considered. As reported by Murakami et al, use of Carbon Black could be a valid and low cost alternative, and a small area cell showing power conversion efficiency exceeding 9% has been reported (Murakami & Graetzel, 2008). The same authors reported also a cell with catalyst layer made of Polymeric material such as PEDOT.…”

Section: Dye Solar Cells Fabricationmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…The multilayer structure is typically composed by: a mesoporous TiO 2 working layer, a spacer/scattering layer and a counter-electrode layer. The spacer layer is often formed by ZrO 2 or rutile-TiO 2 , while the counter-electrode layer is usually composed by Pt, Au, carbon or a mixture of these (Murakami & Graetzel, 2008). In order to obtain the maximum advantages from the monolithic architecture, some researcher reports the application of a quasi-solid gel electrolyte (non-volatile electrolyte) deposited by printing methods like blade-coating or screen-printing technique instead of an electrolyte processing by liquid injection (volatile electrolyte) (P. Wang et al, 2003).…”

Section: Large Area Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%