Zhang Chenle, Deng Libo, Zhang Peixin, Ren Xiangzhong, Li Yongliang, He Tingshu
College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518060, P. R. China.
School of Materials & Mineral Resources, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shanxi 710055, P. R. China.
Dalton Trans. 2017 Mar 27;46(13):4403-4411. doi: 10.1039/c7dt00267j.
The performance of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is strongly influenced by the catalytic performance of its counter electrode (CE) materials. Platinum (Pt) is conventionally used as the CE for DSSCs, but it is precious and is readily corroded by the iodide/triiodide electrolyte. Herein, mesoporous NiCoO networks with different types of building blocks were prepared by electrospinning of a composite solution followed by annealing in air, and their performances as CEs in DSSCs were investigated. The honeycomb-like NiCoO exhibited better performance than the nanotube ones, showing a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 7.09% which is higher than that of a standard Pt CE (7.05%) under the same conditions. The enhanced electrode performance was attributed to the relatively larger surface area and higher conductivity. The preparation methods demonstrated in this study are scalable and would pave the way for practical applications of Pt-free DSSCs.
染料敏化太阳能电池（DSSC）的性能受到其对电极（CE）材料催化性能的强烈影响。传统上，铂（Pt）用作DSSC的对电极，但它价格昂贵且容易被碘化物/三碘化物电解质腐蚀。在此，通过对复合溶液进行静电纺丝然后在空气中退火，制备了具有不同类型结构单元的介孔NiCoO网络，并研究了它们作为DSSC中对电极的性能。蜂窝状NiCoO表现出比纳米管状的更好的性能，在相同条件下显示出7.09%的光电转换效率，高于标准Pt对电极（7.05%）。电极性能的提高归因于相对较大的表面积和较高的电导率。本研究中展示的制备方法具有可扩展性，将为无Pt DSSC的实际应用铺平道路。
