An efficient metal-free hydrophilic carbon as a counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

• Main Authors: Kouhnavard, M., Ahmad Ludin, N., Vazifehkhah Ghaffari, B., Sopian, K., Abdul Karim, N., Miyake, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2016
• Subjects: T Technology (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/71690/1/MojganKouhnavard2016_AnEfficientMetalFreeHydrophilicCarbon.pdf; http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/71690/; https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84962641739&doi=10.1155%2f2016%2f5186762&partnerID=40&md5=7a6ae582813571d464b190b8c9387de0
• Institution: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

This study presents a new cost-effective metal-free counter electrode (CE) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). CE was prepared by doctor blading a hydrophilic carbon (HC) particle on a fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate. Thereafter, HC CE was characterized using X-ray diffraction, profilometry, four-point probe testing, and cyclic voltammetry. A 2 μm thick HC CE revealed a comparable catalytic activity to that of the Pt electrode under the same experimental conditions. DSSC based on HC CE was analyzed and showed J s c of 6.87 mA/cm2 close to that of DSSC with Pt CE (7.0 mA/cm2). More importantly, DSSC based on HC CE yielded a power conversion efficiency (η) of 2.93% under AM 1.5 irradiation (100 mW/cm2), which was comparable to that of DSSC based on standard Pt CE. These findings suggest that HC CE could be a promising CE for low-cost DSSCs.