초록 |
This work presents an efficient catalyst material for counter electrodes (CEs) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) using an inexpensive and ecologically sustainable manufacturing method. For this purpose, bimetallic PtZn nanoparticles are synthesized on a SnO2:F (FTO) substrate using dry plasma reduction (DPR) under atmospheric pressure. HRSEM and XPS are used to analyze the morphology and chemical composition of the developed materials. In order to achieve high catalytic activity and excellent electrical conductivity in the developed material, the chemical composition of the PtxZn1-x (0 ≤ x ≤x1) alloy is controlled through optimizing the volume ratio of the Pt and Zn precursors used to synthesize the PtZn alloy. It is found that the Pt0.9Zn0.1 alloy exhibits the lowest value of Rct = 0.81 Ω among all PtZn alloy electrodes. As a result, an efficiency of 8.04% with Jsc = 15.76 mAcm-2, Voc = 725 mV, and FF = 70.34 is achieved. The obtained efficiency is higher than that of 7.00% for a device using a Pt1Zn0 CE. The obtained results indicate that the PtZn alloy fabricated using DPR is an alternative CE material for highly efficient DSCs. |