Towards Long-Term Thermal Stability of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

Mahyar Mohammadnezhad; Gurpreet Singh Selopal; Zhiming M Wang; Barry Stansfield; Haiguang Zhao; Federico Rosei

doi:10.1002/cplu.201800046

Towards Long-Term Thermal Stability of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

Chempluschem. 2018 Jul;83(7):682-690. doi: 10.1002/cplu.201800046. Epub 2018 Apr 26.

Authors

Mahyar Mohammadnezhad¹, Gurpreet Singh Selopal^{1

2}, Zhiming M Wang², Barry Stansfield¹, Haiguang Zhao³, Federico Rosei^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications, 1650 Boul. Lionel Boulet Varennes, Québec, J3X 1S2, Canada.
² Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, P. R. China.
³ The Cultivation Base for State Key Laboratory & College of Physics, Qingdao University, No. 308 Ningxia Road, Qingdao, 266071, P. R. China.

PMID: 31950625
DOI: 10.1002/cplu.201800046

Abstract

In this study, the effect of incorporating multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the thermal stability of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was investigated. Under identical measurement conditions (aging at 80 °C for 240 h), DSSCs based on a bare TiO₂ anode presented a significant loss in photoconversion efficiency (PCE), dropping to 59 % of their initial value, whereas the DSSCs based on a TiO₂ -MWCNT nanocomposite anode attained a promising thermal stability with only 20 % loss of PCE. This degradation of cell performance is mainly associated with a dramatic reduction in the short-circuit current density (J_sc ). To understand the mechanisms that underpin these changes in device performance under thermal stress, both types of cells were investigated using various techniques. The incorporation of MWCNTs could eliminate the formation of cracks and improve electron charge transfer. The results of this study indicate a promising new method to enhance the thermal stability of DSSCs using a nanocomposite anode made of one-dimensional carbon materials.

Keywords: degradation mechanism; hybrid composites; nanotubes; solar cells; thermal stability.