In this work, we present the use of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as the counter electrode materials in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). rGO was first deposited on a fluorine-doped tin oxide glass substrate by screen-printing, followed by post-treatment to remove excessive organic additives. We investigated the effect of atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) treatment on the DSSC performance. A power conversion efficiency of 5.19% was reached when DSSCs with an rGO counter electrode were treated by APPJs in the ambient air for a few seconds. For comparison, it requires a conventional calcination process at 400 °C for 15 min to obtain comparable efficiency. Scanning electron micrographs show that the APPJ treatment modifies the rGO structure, which may reduce its conductivity in part but simultaneously greatly enhances its catalytic activity. Combined with the rapid removal of organic additives by the highly reactive APPJ, DSSCs with APPJ-treated rGO counter electrode show comparable efficiencies to furnace-calcined rGO counter electrodes with greatly reduced process time. This ultrashort process time renders an estimated energy consumption per unit area of 1.1 kJ/cm(2), which is only one-third of that consumed in a conventional furnace calcination process. This new methodology thus saves energy, cost, and time, which is greatly beneficial to future mass production.
Keywords: atmospheric pressure plasma jet; carbon; counter electrode; dye-sensitized solar cells; graphene; graphene oxide.