Influence of Inorganic Binder Composition on the Structure-Property Relationship of Monolithic Dye-sensitized Solar Cells with Carbon-based Counter Electrode

Abstract

In order to fabricate a low-cost dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), carbon has become a highly preferred catalytic material as counter-electrode, particularly for DSSC with monolithic structure. This paper presents novel synthesis method of carbon-based composite pastes using two types of carbon material, i.e. carbon nanopowder and activated carbon. The concentrations of the inorganic binder added to the composite pastes were varied to investigate their effect on the physical properties of the counter electrode and the electronic properties of the constructed monolithic DSSC. The inorganic binder used in this work was titanium dioxide nanoparticles, Evonik P25. After optimization, power conversion efficiency of 0.221% was achieved by the monolithic DSSC with counter electrode composite comprising activated carbon and titanium dioxide with weight concentration of 0.5 g and 0.25 g, respectively. Characterizations using gas sorption technique showed that the shape of the hysteresis curves obtained for all composites resembled the isotherm curve Type II and H3, indicating the presence of micropores. Furthermore, higher concentration of titanium dioxide nanoparticles as binder led to counter electrode with lower surface area. The solar cell efficiency, however, was found to be not only correlated to the surface area or the binder composition, but it was also determined by the type of the carbon material.

The effect of foamed cement nanocomposite as counter electrode on the performance of dye‐sensitized solar cell

“…It is clearly observed in this study that, the CB has improved the conductivity of the CEs. In S8, the foam cement's porosity not only enlarges the contact area with the electrode but also provides a rich electron transport channel 24 …”

“…In S8, the foam cement's porosity not only enlarges the contact area with the electrode but also provides a rich electron transport channel. 24 To optimize the CB nanoparticle of the cement ratio in S8, various weight percentages of CB (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 wt%) were prepared. The measured 𝑅 𝑆𝐻 were equal to 874, 436, 158, 214, and 362 Ω/m 2 , respectively.…”

“…Their results on the electrochemical energy storage performance have shown that the obtained specimen with .6% H 2 O 2 of the cement mass has suitable porosity, leading to the ionic conductivity of 29.07 mS/cm and the compressive strength of 19.6 MPa. 24 In this paper, we prepared CEs with high-porosity foamed cement using Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) as a binder and H 2 O 2 as a foaming agent for various carbon composites. Different carbon composites were considered in order to optimize CEs, such as graphite, multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and CB.…”

“…reported that cement could be porous by H 2 O 2 as the foaming agent. Their results on the electrochemical energy storage performance have shown that the obtained specimen with .6% H 2 O 2 of the cement mass has suitable porosity, leading to the ionic conductivity of 29.07 mS/cm and the compressive strength of 19.6 MPa 24 …”