Au‐Coated Honeycomb Structure as an Efficient TCO‐Free Counter‐Electrode for Quantum‐Dot‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

This study reports the fabrication of a Petri dish patterned with cylindrical micro-cavities that are produced using a one-step solvent-immersion phase-separation process. The developed 3D honeycomb Petri dish is coated with a Au film through a sputtering method to be an efficient Au-coated FTO-free electrode for quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells. Due to the high specific active surface area of the electrode with the Au-coated honeycomb structure, the energy conversion efficiency of devices that use this electrode is 5.2 % compared to 4.4 and 4.7 % by devices using an Au-coated flat Petri dish and an Au-coated FTO electrode, respectively. This design strategy offers excellent potential for the fabrication of highly efficient counter electrodes with FTO-free substrates of flexible photovoltaic devices.

Versatile and Functional Surface Patterning of in Situ Breath Figure Pore Formation via Solvent Treatment

“…Recently, a more aggressive strategy was developed to obtain honeycomb-structured pore arrays on the surface of preshaped polymeric substrate . Among the works following such strategy, Choi’s group has reported a series of studies concerning an inspiring method of phase separation to achieve large-scale surface patterning on thin films or substrates of different polymers. − In their works of film patterning, the film fabrication and the surface patterning were separated into two steps. A mixture of a solvent and a nonsolvent was dip-coated onto a thin polymer film, which was spin-coated on the solid substrate beforehand.…”

An overview of the preparation and application of counter electrodes for DSSCs

“…The manufacturing method shows low cost, high efficiency, and good reproducibility. 21 Titanium is featured with superior stability and corrosion resistance because a natural passivation oxide is formed on its surface. Deng et al fabricated a novel NiCo 2 S 4 nanotube counter electrode supported on a porous titanium membrane by acid etching and a two-step hydrothermal method, which can significantly improve the cell fill factor, showing excellent current density and power conversion efficiency.…”

Morphology and Performance of PolyVinyl Chloride Thin Films Doped with Polyorganosilanes against Photodegradation

“…Additionally, to reduce the process of photo-degradation to the building units of carbohydrates chains within the polymer [19]. e. X-ray Mapping X-ray images of PVC and organosilane polymers (1-3) are displayed in gures (9)(10)(11)(12) respectively, showing the distributions of the elements and their relative abundance in PVC lms [15]. Long-term exposure of PVC membranes to UV light causes dechlorination which results in hydrochloride production from the polymer chains and hence the abundance of chlorine inside PVC lms [20,21].…”

“…The superior surface-to-volume ratios, optical charge carriers, longer lifetimes of better electrical conductivity at the M/S junction, and faster light absorption are all attributed to this behavior. On the other hand, the honeycomb/non-porous morphology is of particular importance because it provides better mechanical toughness, a better charge absorber, and has a lower density with a larger diffusion coe cient [9]. Many recent technology applications can modify Honeycomb's distinctive features [10].…”