Enhancement of photovoltaic performance using a novel photocathode based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/Ag–CuO nanocomposite in dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

A novel counter electrode (CE) based on a silver and copper oxide nanocomposite is developed and characterized by XRD and FE-SEM. A polymeric system containing poly(3,4ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is employed as the conductive polymer to prepare a transparent CE for a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) device. Electrochemical analysis is used to study the catalytic activity of the reduction of triiodide ions in different DSSC-based CEs. To study the effect of photoelectrode modification on charge-transfer resistance, alternating current impedance spectroscopy is carried out. Power conversion efficiency and short-circuit current density (J SC ) increase from 8.01% to 9.06% and 16.18 to 17.79 mA/cm 2 , respectively, due to the significantly improved electrical conductivity and electrocatalytic activity of the novel PEDOT/Ag-CuO nanocomposite-based CE.

Electrochemical and power conversion performance of different counter electrode materials for flexible dye-sensitized solar cells

“…3. 26 According to the CV measurements, a high cathodic current density (J c ) value indicates that the electrodes have a larger active surface area and conductivity, which is more advantageous for the reduction process of I 3 − and improves the value of J sc and the performance characteristics of FDSSCs. 27 In contrast to other CV curves produced at 20 (−0.48 mA cm −2 , 0.29 V), 50 (−0.78 mA cm −2 , 0.52 V), and 100 (−1.25 mA cm −2 , 0.97 V) mV s −1 scan rate, the CV curve obtained at 80 mV s −1 scan rate has a larger cathodic current density (−1.14 mA cm −2 ) and a smaller peak to peak potential difference (0.54 V) as shown in Fig.…”

Polymers in High-Efficiency Solar Cells: The Latest Reports

“…Mazloum-Ardakani et al fabricated the DSSC counter-electrode from PEDOT-Ag/CuO nanocomposites. The cell showed the combined effect of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), graphite and copper particles, thus obtaining an energy conversion efficiency of 9.06% [ 41 ]. Gaining confidence from the acquired results and in order to decrease the required amount of expensive platinum, Xu et al fabricated counter-electrodes from transparent PEDOT film incorporated with Pt-nanoclusters.…”

“…These materials significantly reduce the cost compared to a platinum electrode. Common polymers used are polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPy), polythiophene (PTh) and its derivatives [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ].…”