Interface Engineered Binary Platinum Free Alloy-based Counter Electrodes with Improved Performance in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Wen-Wu Liu; Wei Jiang; Yu-Cheng Liu; Wen-Jun Niu; Mao-Cheng Liu; Ling-Bin Kong; Ling Lee; Zhiming M Wang; Yu-Lun Chueh

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64965-7

Interface Engineered Binary Platinum Free Alloy-based Counter Electrodes with Improved Performance in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 8;10(1):9157. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-64965-7.

Authors

Wen-Wu Liu^{1

2}, Wei Jiang^{3

4}, Yu-Cheng Liu^{3

4}, Wen-Jun Niu^{3

4}, Mao-Cheng Liu^{3

4}, Ling-Bin Kong^{3

4}, Ling Lee^{5

6}, Zhiming M Wang⁶, Yu-Lun Chueh^{7

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing and Recycling of Nonferrous Metals, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, 730050, PR China. lww06080428@163.com.
² College of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, 730050, PR China. lww06080428@163.com.
³ State Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing and Recycling of Nonferrous Metals, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, 730050, PR China.
⁴ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, 730050, PR China.
⁵ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan.
⁶ Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, P. R. China.
⁷ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan. ylchueh@mx.nthu.edu.tw.
⁸ Frontier Research Center on Fundamental and Applied Sciences of Matters, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan. ylchueh@mx.nthu.edu.tw.
⁹ Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan. ylchueh@mx.nthu.edu.tw.

Abstract

The high cost and platinum dissolution issues of counter electrodes (CEs) are two core problems for the development of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In this work, different CEs based on binary alloy Ru_81.09Co_18.91, Ru_80.55Se_19.45 and Co_20.85Se_79.15 nanostructures for DSSCs were successfully synthesized and investigated by a facile and environmentally friendly approach. Here, we found that the Co_20.85Se_79.15 alloy CE-based device yields the higher photoelectric conversion efficiency of 7.08% compared with that (5.80%) of the DSSC using a pure Pt CE because of the larger number of active sites with improved charge transferability and reduced interface resistance by matching work function with the I₃^‒/I^‒ redox electrolyte. The inexpensive synthesis method, cost-effectiveness and superior catalytic activity of the Co_20.85Se_79.15 alloy may open up a new avenue for the development of CEs for DSSCs in the near future.