Ni1−xPtx (x=0–0.08) films as the photocathode of dye-sensitized solar cells with high efficiency

Abstract

Films of Ni 1 x Pt x (x = 0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, and 0.08) have been prepared on fluorine-doped tin oxide-coated (FTO) glass substrates by a chemical plating method and used as the photocathode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The Ni 0.94 Pt 0.06 film consisted of nanoparticles with a size of 4 6 nm and a Pt loading of 5.13 μg/cm 2 . The Ni 0.94 Pt 0.06 photocathode exhibited high catalytic performance toward triiodide reduction, high light refl ectance, and low charge-transfer resistance. The DSC assembled with the Ni 0.94 Pt 0.06 photocathode gave a short-circuit photocurrent density (J sc ) of 16.79 mA/cm 2 , an open-circuit photovoltage (V oc ) of 736 mV, and a fi ll factor (FF) of 66.4%, corresponding to an overall conversion effi ciency of 8.21% under standard AM 1.5 irradiation (100 mW/cm 2 ), which is higher than that for the DSC with a pure Pt photocathode obtained by conventional thermal decomposition. Furthermore, the DSC based on the Ni 0.94 Pt 0.06 photocathode showed good stability. The results indicate that Ni 0.94 Pt 0.06 fi lms are promising lowcost and high-performance photocathodes for use in DSCs.

Effect of disorder on the optical response of NiPt and Ni3Pt alloys

“…Transparent conductive electrodes are indispensable components of many opto-electronic devices including solar cells, organic light emitting diodes, photodetectors, touchscreens, photovoltaics, integrated modulators, liquid-crystal displays, electrochromic devices and photocathodes of dye synthesized solar cells 2 . There has been extensive research interest in producing high quality transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) 3 -6 in which indium tin oxide (ITO) 7 -9 has been the most widely used.…”

Fabrication and performance of the Pt-Ru/Ni-P/FTO counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

“…Thus a counter electrode with high electrical conductivity and catalytic activity is essential to an efficient DSSC. Platinum (Pt) has been widely used as the catalytic layer on the counter electrode of DSSCs because of its high electrical conductivity, excellent catalytic properties, and low overvoltage [5][6][7]. However, Pt tends to be eroded in the long-term exposure to the iodine electrolyte, affecting the stability of solar cells [8].…”

A composite catalytic film of Ni-NPs/PEDOT: PSS for the counter electrodes in dye–sensitized solar cells

“…Graphene supported nickel nanoparticles (GP-Ni) was used as the catalytic film for the CE of a DSSC; the cell showed a higher Á (2.19%) compared to that of the cell with Pt (2.00%), and this was attributed to a better electrocatalytic ability of the film with GP-Ni [24]. Nickel nanoparticles (Ni-NPs) enhance the performance of a CE in a DSSC, owing to their excellent electro-catalytic ability, superior conductivity [25] and long-term stability [26,27]. Nickel nanoparticles were reported to have been used as the conducting material on a paper substrate for a DSSC, in the place of transparent conducting oxide (TCO) [28]; however nickel nanoparticles cannot be attached easily to a substrate because of their high density.…”