Review on the recent progress of carbon counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Chen, Ming; Shao, Leng−Leng

doi:10.1016/j.cej.2016.07.001

Cited by 187 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 175 publications

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“…The white spots in the samples, in according to EDX results, are iron left by the catalyst. Both of these samples bear similarity to results found by other researchers (Chen & Shao, 2016). Furthermore, neither of these samples were considered for the next stage of testing as they did not fulfil the criteria of having particles close to nanosize, as defined earlier.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 57%

“…The electron charge on this photoanode is transferred to the opposite electrode, which is known as the counter electrode. This counter electrode will collect electrons and catalyze the reduction of electrolyte, which is usually in the forms of triiodide into iodide, enabling the reaction result to regenerate the lost electrons from the dye (Chen & Shao, 2016). In this instance, the counter electrode is one of the components that has an important role in the performance of the DSSC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characteristics of Carbon Pyrolyzed from Table Sugar and Sucrose for Pt-less DSSC Counter Electrode

Sofyan¹,

Muhammad

Ridhova

et al. 2018

IJTech

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Platinum is the most effective counter electrode for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). However, as platinum is very expensive, its price impedes its broad use as a DSSC counter electrode. As an alternative, carbon has been used for this purpose. In this study, carbon has been successfully pyrolyzed from the precursors of table sugar and sucrose through a chemical process, i.e. the dehydration of the precursors with sulfate acid followed by a pyrolysis process, and used as Pt-less counter electrode in a DSSC device. The as-synthesized carbon was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) to obtain crystal structure information and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was employed to carry out morphological and compositional examination. The material activity and performance of the counter electrode in the DSSC device were analyzed using a semiconductor parameter analyzer through current-voltage characteristic curves (I-V). The results show that the precursors of table sugar without the addition of a metal catalyst and with initial heat treatment at 300°C for 1 hour, and of sucrose with a catalyst could produce carbon with a particle size of around 600-900 nm. The I-V curve characteristic of the DSSC device assembled using carbon produced from sucrose as a counter electrode resulted in a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of only 0.041%, whereas the DSSC device assembled using carbon produced from table sugar as a counter electrode exhibited a good performance with a PCE of 3.239%, almost equivalent to that of platinum paste with a PCE of 4.024%. This result is promising in terms of using a cheap source of carbon for the Pt-less counter electrode.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of Carbon Pyrolyzed from Table Sugar and Sucrose for Pt-less DSSC Counter Electrode

Sofyan¹,

Muhammad

Ridhova

et al. 2018

IJTech

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…values also show a similar trend as of the lim values where PEDOT-GO/TiO 2 , PEDOT-GO, and platinum yielded 0.332, −0.280, and −1.015 mA/cm 2 , respectively. A higher reveals that PEDOT-GO/TiO 2 possesses high ECA toward the reduction of tri-iodide to iodide, whereas a higher lim indicates good contact and better diffusion of electrolyte within the CE [43]. A comparison of the Tafel curves between PEDOT-GO/TiO 2 and PEDOT-GO CEs indicates that the former has a higher catalytic activity compared to the latter.…”

Section: Tafel Polarization Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ct is inversely proportional to exchange current density ( ); thus in order to yield a higher a good CE should have lower ct . can be determined from the intersection of the tangent line of the polarization curve and the extension of the linear segment to the zero bias using [43] …”

Section: Tafel Polarization Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

A Novel Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-graphene Oxide/Titanium Dioxide Composites Counter Electrode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell

Mustafa

Shafie

Zainal

et al. 2017

Journal of Nanomaterials

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PEDOT-based material counter electrodes (CEs) are recently given an enormous attention as new renewable energy sources due to their cost-effectiveness and accessibility, coupled with the simplicity of production. The existing dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are expensive because they are made using platinum-based glass electrode. In this work, a new CE, that is, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-graphene oxide/titanium dioxide (PEDOT-GO/TiO 2 ) with a low charge transfer resistance ( ct = 9.0 Ω), was fabricated. In addition, PEDOT-GO/TiO 2 CE possesses a good electrocatalytic activity (ECA) toward the tri-iodide ions reduction and an improved efficiency of 1.166% was reached in DSSC.

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“…Superior catalytic activity, flexible electrochemical performance, good conductivity, high active area, cheaper and greener synthesis and fabrication techniques, effective performance is expected from CE alternative to Pt in DSSC. Recently graphene and other carbon based composites, [37][38][39] 44,45 exhibited performance that is competitive to Pt. The research has led to large increasing number of publications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review on applications of Cu2ZnSnS4 as alternative counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

et al. 2018

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A contribution of counter electrode (CE) emphasis a great impact towards enhancement of a dye-sensitized solar cell's (DSSC) performance and Pt based CE sets a significant benchmark in this field. Owing to cost effective noble metal, less abundance and industrial large scale application purpose, an effective replacement for Pt is highly demanded. There are several approaches to improve the performance of a CE for enhancing the power conversion efficiency with a less costly and facile device. To address this issue, reasonable efforts execute to find out suitable replacement of Pt is becoming a challenge by keeping the same electrochemical properties of Pt in a cheaper and eco-friendlier manner. With this, cheaper element based quaternary chalcogenide, Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) becomes a prominent alternative to Pt and used as a successful CE in DSSC also. This review presents brief discussion about the basic properties of CZTS including its synthesis strategy, physicochemical properties and morphology execution and ultimate application as an alternative Pt free CE for a low cost based enhanced DSSC device. It is therefore, imperative for engineering of CZTS material and optimization of the fabrication method for the improvement of DSSC performance.

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Review on the recent progress of carbon counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Cited by 187 publications

References 175 publications

Characteristics of Carbon Pyrolyzed from Table Sugar and Sucrose for Pt-less DSSC Counter Electrode

Characteristics of Carbon Pyrolyzed from Table Sugar and Sucrose for Pt-less DSSC Counter Electrode

A Novel Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-graphene Oxide/Titanium Dioxide Composites Counter Electrode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell

A review on applications of Cu2ZnSnS4 as alternative counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

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