Counter Electrode in Polymer‐Electrolyte‐Based DSSC: Platinum Versus Electrodeposited MnO₂

Abstract

Manganese oxide have been successfully electrodeposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass electrodes via a facile, green, and energy-efficient electrodeposition technique, which is used as counter electrode in a dye-sensitized solar cell using polyethylene-oxide-based solid polymer electrolyte. X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray, and scanning electron microscopy are used to study the structure, elemental composition, and surface morphology of the electrodeposited electrode. The electrochemical performance of the electrode is studied by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Performance of the cells is investigated by photocurrent-voltage characteristics using an input power (P in ) of 100 mW cm −2 . The short-circuit current density (J sc ) is 0.22 mA cm −2 , open-circuit voltage (V oc ) is 0.76 V, fill factor (FF) is 0.5, and power conversion efficiency ( ) is 0.08%. Further, a comparison with the conventional platinum (Pt) counter electrode is made and presented in this paper.

Potential of Iron Oxides in Photovoltaic Technology

“…(a) The availability of iron in the world alongside various elements usually used in solar cell technology () . (b) Compilation of PCE achievement of different elements used in solar cell devices. ,− …”