Low-Cost and Efficient Nickel Nitroprusside/Graphene Nanohybrid Electrocatalysts as Counter Electrodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

Novel nickel nitroprusside (NNP) nanoparticles with incorporated graphene nanoplatelets (NNP/GnP) were used for the first time as a low-cost and effective counter electrode (CE) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). NNP was synthesized at a low-temperature (25 °C) solution process with suitable purity and crystallinity with a size range from 5 to 10 nm, as confirmed by different spectroscopic and microscopic analyses. The incorporation of an optimized amount of GnP (0.2 wt%) into the NNP significantly improved the electrocatalytic behavior for the redox reaction of iodide (I−)/tri-iodide (I3−) by decreasing the charge-transfer resistance at the CE/electrolyte interface, lower than the NNP- and GnP-CEs, and comparable to the Pt-CE. The NNP/GnP nanohybrid CE when applied in DSSC exhibited a PCE of 6.13% (under one sun illumination conditions) with the Jsc, Voc, and FF of 14.22 mA/cm2, 0.628 V, and 68.68%, respectively, while the PCE of the reference Pt-CE-based DSSC was 6.37% (Jsc = 14.47 mA/cm2, Voc = 0.635 V, and FF = 69.20%). The low cost of the NNP/GnP hybrid CE with comparable photovoltaic performance to Pt-CE can be potentially exploited as a suitable replacement of Pt-CE in DSSCs.

Low-Temperature Chemical Sintered TiO2 Photoanodes Based on a Binary Liquid Mixture for Flexible Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

“…However, a little lower R s for the P BL cell (13.2 W) than the P O -based f-DSSC (14.4 W) suggests the lower contact resistance between the P BL TiO 2 film and ITO/PEN substrates. This can be attributed to the strong adhesion of the P BL TiO 2 film with the substrate [36], consistent with the scotch tape and mechanical adhesion tests. The R ct2 values for P BL and P O devices are 21.36 and 27.49 W, respectively.…”

“…The semicircle at the high-, mid-, and low-frequency regions corresponds to the charge transfer resistance at the CE/ electrolyte interface (R ct1 ), charge transfer resistance at the TiO 2 /dye/electrolyte interface (R ct2 ), and the diffusion resistance (Z diffusion ) within the electrolyte, respectively [35]. The intercept with the real axis at the highfrequency region corresponds to the contact resistance (R s ) between the TiO 2 /substrate or the ohmic resistance of the cells [35,36]. Generally, the R s values do not alter much in a DSSC with similar substrates and paste.…”

Iron nitroprusside as a chemodynamic agent and inducer of ferroptosis for ovarian cancer therapy

“…To elucidate the exact pattern, the XRD spectra of FeNP are simulated using the pattern of nickel( ii ) nitroprusside (NiNP). 48 This is because the preparation of a single-crystal of FeNP and the corresponding XRD analysis are beyond the scope of this research. The simulated XRD pattern is well-matched with the experimental pattern, and it is isostructural to NiNP.…”

Nanocomposite-Based Electrode Structures for EEG Signal Acquisition

“…Electroencephalography (EEG) is a noninvasive method of measuring cortical electrical activities that provides highly detailed temporal information reflecting the dynamics of brain activities [1,2] because of its portability, high mobility, simple setup, and low cost. By incorporating the nickel nitroprusside (NNP) nanoparticles with GNP/FE electrode fabrication, the efficiency is improved and the cost can be reduced [3], which is why it has seen extensive application in BCI studies [4,5]. Traditional Ag/AgCl electrodes bathed in the conductive gel are frequently used to collect trustworthy EEG data.…”