Effect of Synthesis Conditions of Platinum/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites on the Electrochemical Behaviors of Cathodes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

This study deals with the preparation and characterization of platinum/reduced graphene oxide (Pt/rGO) as an efficient cathode for dye-sensitized solar cells. Herein, the Pt/rGO material was synthesized by co-precipitation from hexachloroplatinic acid (H 2 PtCl 6) and graphene oxide (GO) precursors. The fabrication of cathodes from Pt/rGO composite paste was carried out using screen-printing paste. The electrochemical behaviors of as-prepared cathodes were analyzed by cyclic voltammetry; the performance of fabricated DSSCs was measured by current density-voltage (J-V) curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The structural characteristics of the Pt/rGO binary composites were confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy. Empirical data showed that choosing ascorbic acid as a reducing agent at a ratio of 5:1 between ascorbic acid weight and precursor mixture weight, as well as a GO weight percentage of 20% fabricated DSSCs successfully with a conversion efficiency of 6.25%, which was approximately 90% compared to that of pure commercial Pt material. Characterization results indicated that the Pt nanoparticles were homogeneously distributed on the rGO sheets with an average diameter of less than 25 nm. The Pt/rGO hybrid composite is highly expected to replace Pt in the fabrication of cathodes in DSSCs for lowcost DSSC production in the promising future.

Theoretical study on dye-sensitized solar cells using graphene quantum dot and curcumin, pahthalocyanine dyes

“…To estimate the possibility of GQD, Pc and curcumin dyes, and its nanocomposites as a sensitizer of DSSC, the density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent DFT (TD-DFT) methods are used to get the electronic and optical properties of their nanostructures by using Gaussian 09 package [23]. Published results indicate that graphene and Pc nanocomposite has more expectable properties for DSSCs compared with others nanostructures [24].…”

Enhanced Efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Polymer-Assisted Dispersion of Platinum Nanoparticles/Carbon Nanotubes Nanohybrid Films as FTO-Free Counter Electrodes

“…For example, graphene oxide and TiO 2 were mixed with Pt to prepare a hybrid counter electrode, with a conversion efficiency of 4.52% [ 29 ]. Another study used hexachloroplatinic acid to reduce Pt to the graphene surface through chemical reduction and a highly conductive FTO substrate to prepare a binary composite material with a conversion efficiency of 6.25–8.00% [ 30 , 31 ]. It was also reported that a counter electrode composed of carbon black, and a conductive polymer with conductive glass, can have a conversion efficiency reaching 7.24% [ 32 ].…”