New Insights into Improving the Photovoltaic Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells by Removing Platinum from the Counter Electrode Using a Graphene-MoS2 Composite or Hybrid

Mozhgan Hosseinnezhad; Mehdi Ghahari; Ghazal Mobarhan; Mohsen Fathi; Arvydas Palevicius; Venkatramaiah Nutalapati; Giedrius Janusas; Sohrab Nasiri

doi:10.3390/mi14122161

New Insights into Improving the Photovoltaic Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells by Removing Platinum from the Counter Electrode Using a Graphene-MoS₂ Composite or Hybrid

Micromachines (Basel). 2023 Nov 26;14(12):2161. doi: 10.3390/mi14122161.

Authors

Mozhgan Hosseinnezhad¹, Mehdi Ghahari², Ghazal Mobarhan², Mohsen Fathi³, Arvydas Palevicius⁴, Venkatramaiah Nutalapati⁵, Giedrius Janusas⁴, Sohrab Nasiri⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Organic Colourants, Institute for Colour Science and Technology, Tehran P.O. Box 16765-654, Iran.
² Department of Nanomaterials and Nanocoatings, Institute for Colour Science and Technology, Tehran P.O. Box 16765-654, Iran.
³ Department of Physics, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood P.O. Box 36155-316, Iran.
⁴ Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Design, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu Street 56, LT 51373 Kaunas, Lithuania.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu, India.

Abstract

Photovoltaic systems, such as dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), are one of the useful tools for generating renewable and green energy. To develop this technology, obstacles such as cost and the use of expensive compounds must be overcome. Here, we employed a new MoS₂/graphene hybrid or composite instead of platinum in the DSSCs. Furthermore, the correctness of the preparation of the MoS₂/graphene hybrid or composite was evaluated by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), and the results showed that the desired compound was synthesized correctly. Inexpensive organic dyes were used to prepare the DSSCs, and their chemical structure was investigated by density functional theory (DFT) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Finally, the DSSCs were fabricated using MoS₂/graphene composite or hybrid, and to compare the results, the DSSCs were also prepared using platinum. Under the same conditions, the DSSCs with MoS₂/graphene composite illustrated better efficiency than MoS₂/graphene hybrid or/and graphene.

Keywords: MoS2/graphene; dye-sensitized solar cells; efficiency; free-platinum; photovoltaic.

Grants and funding

This project received funding from European Social Fund (project No 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-23-0156) under the grant agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT).