Solar Energy, Vol.102, 152-161, 2014
Carbon nanomaterial based counter electrodes for dye sensitized solar cells
In this paper, we report a new cost effective platinum-free counter electrodes (CEs) for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The CEs were produced using Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs) or multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) or various weight % of hybrid GNPs and MWCNTs mixtures. These materials have been dispersed using PEDOT: PSS polymer and then deposited on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass as well as on a non-conducting glass substrate by a drop casting method. The testing of these electrodes in DSSCs have demonstrated a power conversion efficiency of up to 4.10% to compare with the power conversion efficiency of 3.90% for the DSSC with a standard Pt based CE. New CEs were also made where both Pt and FTO were completely replaced by the hybrid PEDOT: PSS-GNPs-MWCNT nanomaterials. The DSSC with these new platinum- and FTO-free CEs have demonstrated an efficiency of up to 2.48%. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.