Activated graphene nanoplatelets as a counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

Journal Article · Thu Apr 07 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4945375· OSTI ID:22594569

Gong, Jiawei ^[1]; Zhou, Zhengping; Qiao, Qiquan ^[1]; Sumathy, K. ^[2]; Yang, Huojun ^[3]

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1. Center for Advanced Photovoltaics, Department of Electrical Engineering, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota 57007 (United States)
2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58102 (United States)
3. Department of Construction Management and Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58102 (United States)

Activated graphene nanoplatelets (aGNPs) prepared by a hydrothermal method using KOH as activating agent were used as counter electrode for high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). After the KOH activation, the scanning electron microscopy image shows that aGNPs demonstrate a more curled, rough, and porous morphology which could contain both micro- and mesopores. The KOH activation changed the stacked layers of GNPs to a more crumpled and curved morphology. The microstructure of large pores significantly increased the electrode surface area and roughness, leading to the high electrocatalytic activity for triiodide reduction at the counter electrode. The DSSCs fabricated using aGNP as counter electrodes were tested under standard AM 1.5 illumination with an intensity of 91.5 mW/cm{sup 2}. The device achieved an overall power conversion efficiency of 7.7%, which is comparable to the conventional platinum counter electrode (8%). Therefore, the low cost and high performance aGNP based counter electrode is a promising alternative to conventional Pt counter electrode in DSSCs.

• OSTI ID: 22594569
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 119, Issue 13; Other Information: (c) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DIAGRAMS
DYES
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRODES
GRAPHENE
HYDROTHERMAL SYNTHESIS
ILLUMINANCE
IMAGES
IODINE COMPOUNDS
LAYERS
MORPHOLOGY
NANOSTRUCTURES
PLATINUM
POROUS MATERIALS
POTASSIUM HYDROXIDES
ROUGHNESS
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SOLAR CELLS
SURFACE AREA