39
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      In-situ electrochemically deposited polypyrrole nanoparticles incorporated reduced graphene oxide as an efficient counter electrode for platinum-free dye-sensitized solar cells

      research-article

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          This paper reports a rapid and in-situ electrochemical polymerization method for the fabrication of polypyrrole nanoparticles incorporated reduced graphene oxide (rGO@PPy) nanocomposites on a ITO conducting glass and its application as a counter electrode for platinum-free dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The scanning electron microscopic images show the uniform distribution of PPy nanoparticles with diameter ranges between 20 and 30 nm on the rGO sheets. The electrochemical studies reveal that the rGO@PPy has smaller charge transfer resistance and similar electrocatalytic activity as that of the standard Pt counter electrode for the I 3 /I redox reaction. The overall solar to electrical energy conversion efficiency of the DSSC with the rGO@PPy counter electrode is 2.21%, which is merely equal to the efficiency of DSSC with sputtered Pt counter electrode (2.19%). The excellent photovoltaic performance, rapid and simple fabrication method and low-cost of the rGO@PPy can be potentially exploited as a alternative counter electrode to the expensive Pt in DSSCs.

          Related collections

          Most cited references9

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Flexible graphene films via the filtration of water-soluble noncovalent functionalized graphene sheets.

          Flexible graphene films were prepared by the filtration of water-soluble noncovalently functionalized graphene sheets with pyrenebutyrate. The work presented here will not only open a new way for preparing water-soluble graphene dispersions but also provide a general route for fabricating conducting films based on graphene.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            Electrospun carbon nanofibers as low-cost counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells.

            Electrospun carbon nanofibers (ECNs) have been explored as an electrocatalyst and low-cost alternative to platinum (Pt) for triiodide reduction in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry measurements indicated that the ECN counter electrodes exhibited low charge-transfer resistance (Rct), large capacitance (C), and fast reaction rates for triiodide reduction. Although the efficiency (η) of ECN-based cells was slightly lower than that of Pt-based cells, their short circuit current density (Jsc) and open circuit voltage (Voc) were comparable. The ECN-based cells achieved an energy conversion efficiency (η) of 5.5 % under the AM 1.5 illumination at 100 mW cm(-2). The reason for lower cell performance using the ECN electrode was because of its lower fill factor (FF) than that of Pt-based cells, probably caused by high total series resistance (RStot) at ∼15.5 Ω cm2, which was larger than that of ∼4.8 Ω cm2 in the Pt-based devices. Simulated results showed that the fill factor (FF) and η could be substantially improved by decreasing RStot, which might be achieved by using thinner and highly porous ECNs to reduce the thickness of the ECNs counter electrode.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Water-soluble polyelectrolyte-grafted multiwalled carbon nanotube thin films for efficient counter electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells.

              Water-soluble, polyelectrolyte-grafted multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), MWCNT-g-PSSNa, were synthesized using a "grafting to" route. MWCNT-g-PSSNa thin films fabricated by an electrostatic spray (e-spray) technique were used as the counter electrode (CE) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The e-sprayed MWCNT-g-PSSNa thin-film-based CEs (MWCNT-CE) were uniform over a large area, and the well-exfoliated MWCNTs formed highly interconnected network structures. The electrochemical catalytic activity of the MWCNT-CE at different thicknesses was investigated. The MWCNT-g-PSSNa thin film showed high efficiency as a CE in DSSCs. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the DSSCs using the MWCNT-g-PSSNa thin-film-based CE (DSSC-MWCNT) was >6% at a CE film thickness of approximately 0.3 microm. The optimum PCE was >7% at a film thickness of approximately 1 microm, which is 20-50 times thinner than conventional carbon-based CE. The charge transfer resistance at the MWCNT-CE/electrolyte interface was 1.52 Omega cm(2) at a MWCNT-CE thickness of 0.31 microm, which is lower than that of a Pt-CE/electrolyte interface, 1.78 Omega cm(2). This highlights the potential for the low-cost CE fabrication of DSSCs using a facile deposition technique from an environmentally "friendly" solution at low temperatures.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Sci Rep
                Sci Rep
                Scientific Reports
                Nature Publishing Group
                2045-2322
                16 June 2014
                2014
                : 4
                : 5305
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Low Dimensional Materials Research Centre, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya , 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
                [2 ]Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia , 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
                [3 ]Functional Device Laboratory, Institute of Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia , 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
                Author notes
                Article
                srep05305
                10.1038/srep05305
                4058879
                24930387
                f5520860-388d-479d-b3f6-83575febc883
                Copyright © 2014, Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

                This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder in order to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

                History
                : 15 April 2014
                : 27 May 2014
                Categories
                Article

                Uncategorized
                Uncategorized

                Comments

                Comment on this article