Rational screening low-cost counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Nature Communications

Volumn 4, Issue , 2013, Pages

  Hou, Yu ^a   Wang, Dong ^b   Yang, Xiao Hua ^a   Fang, Wen Qi ^a   Zhang, Bo ^a,c   Wang, Hai Feng ^b   Lu, Guan Zhong ^b   Hu, P ^b,d   Zhao, Hui Jun ^e   Yang, Hua Gui ^a,e  

^a East China University of Science and Technology   (China)

^b RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL CATALYSIS   (China)

^c EAST CHINA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY   (China)

^d QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY BELFAST   (United Kingdom)

^e GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CATALYSIS; CATALYST; DYE; ECONOMIC ANALYSIS; ELECTROCHEMISTRY; ELECTRODE; IODIDE; IRON OXIDE; PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM; POWER GENERATION; PRODUCTION COST; REDOX CONDITIONS; REDUCTION; SOLAR POWER;

ARTICLE; CALCULATION; CATALYSIS; DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL; ELECTRODE; ENERGY RESOURCE; QUANTUM MECHANICS; SEMICONDUCTOR;

EID: 84875867745     PISSN: None     EISSN: 20411723     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2547     Document Type: Article

References (38)

1. O'Regan, B. & Grätzel, M. A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO#inf#2#/inf# films. Nature 353, 737-740 (1991). (Pubitemid 21912607)
2. Grätzel, M. Photoelectrochemical cells. Nature 414, 338-344 (2001). (Pubitemid 33097816)
3. Grätzel, M. Recent advances in sensitized mesoscopic solar cells. Acc. Chem. Res. 42, 1788-1798 (2009).
4. Hagfeldt, A., Boschloo, G., Sun, L., Kloo, L. & Pettersson, H. Dye-sensitized solar cells. Chem. Rev. 110, 6595-6663 (2010).
5. Yum, J.-H. et al. A cobalt complex redox shuttle for dye-sensitized solar cells with high open-circuit potentials. Nat. Commun. 3, 631-638 (2012).
6. Ahmad, S., Yum, J. H., Butt, H. J., Nazeeruddin, M. K. & Grätzel, M. Efficient platinum-free counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cell applications. ChemPhysChem 11, 2814-2819 (2010).
7. Papageorgiou, N. Counter-electrode function in nanocrystalline photoelectrochemical cell configurations. Coord. Chem. Rev. 248, 1421-1446 (2004).
8. Kay, A. & Grätzel, M. Low cost photovoltaic modules based on dye sensitized nanocrystalline titanium dioxide and carbon powder. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 44, 99-117 (1996). (Pubitemid 126392969)
9. Gong, F., Wang, H., Xu, X., Zhou, G. & Wang, Z.-S. In situ growth of Co#inf#0.85#/inf#Se and Ni#inf#0.85#/inf#Se on conductive substrates as high-performance counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 10953-10958 (2012).
10. Trancik, J. E., Barton, S. C. & Hone, J. Transparent and catalytic carbon nanotube films. Nano Lett. 8, 982-987 (2008).
11. Li, Q. et al. Application of microporous polyaniline counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells. Electrochem. Commun. 10, 1299-1302 (2008).
12. Wang, M. et al. CoS supersedes Pt as efficient electrocatalyst for triiodide reduction in dye-sensitized solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 15976-15977 (2009).
13. Sun, H. et al. Dye-sensitized solar cells with NiS counter electrodes electrodeposited by a potential reversal technique. Energy Environ. Sci. 4, 2630-2637 (2011).
14. Li, G. R., Wang, F., Jiang, Q. W., Gao, X. P. & Shen, P. W. Carbon nanotubes with titanium nitride as a low-cost counter-electrode material for dye-sensitized solar cells. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 49, 3653-3656 (2010).
15. Li, G. R., Song, J., Pan, G. L. & Gao, X. P. Highly Pt-like electrocatalytic activity of transition metal nitrides for dye-sensitized solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 4, 1680-1683 (2011).
16. Wu, M., Lin, X., Hagfeldt, A. & Ma, T. Low-cost molybdenum carbide and tungsten carbide counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 50, 3520-3524 (2011).
17. Jang, J. S., Ham, D. J., Ramasamy, E., Lee, J. & Lee, J. S. Platinum-free tungsten carbides as an efficient counter electrode for dye sensitized solar cells. Chem. Commun. 46, 8600-8602 (2010).
18. Wu, M., Lin, X., Hagfeldt, A. & Ma, T. A novel catalyst of WO#inf#2#/inf# nanorod for the counter electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells. Chem. Commun. 47, 4535-4537 (2011).
19. Xin, X., He, M., Han, W., Jung, J. & Lin, Z. Low-cost copper zinc tin sulfide counter electrodes for high-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 50, 11739-11742 (2011).
20. Wu, M. et al. Economical Pt-free catalysts for counter electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 3419-3428 (2012).
21. Hauch, A. & Georg, A. Diffusion in the electrolyte and charge-transfer reaction at the platinum electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells. Electrochim. Acta 46, 3457-3466 (2001). (Pubitemid 32746912)
22. Rossmeisl, J., Nørskov, J.-K., Taylor, C.-D., Janik, M.-J. & Neurock, M. Calculated phase diagrams for the electrochemical oxidation and reduction of water over Pt(111). J. Phys. Chem. B 110, 21833-21839 (2006). (Pubitemid 44797290)
23. Calogero, G. et al. A new type of transparent and low cost counter-electrode based on platinum nanoparticles for dye-sensitized solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 4, 1838-1844 (2011).
24. Wang, H.-F., Guo, Y.-L., Lu, G.-Z. & Hu, P. An understanding and implications of the coverage of surface free sites in heterogeneous catalysis. J. Chem. Phys. 130, 224701 (2009).
25. Cheng, J. & Hu, P. Brønsted - Evans - Polanyi relation of multistep reactions and volcano curve in heterogeneous catalysis. J. Phys. Chem. C 112, 1308-1311 (2008). (Pubitemid 351288231)
26. Cheng, J. & Hu, P. Theory of the kinetics of chemical potentials in heterogeneous catalysis. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 50, 7650-7654 (2011).
27. Zic, M., Ristic, M. & Music, S. Monitoring the hydrothermal precipitation of a-Fe#inf#2#/inf#O#inf#3#/inf# from concentrated Fe(NO#inf#3#/inf#)#inf#3#/inf# solutions partially neutralized with NaOH. J. Mol. Struct. 993, 115-119 (2011).
28. Yin, J. et al. Low-symmetry iron oxide nanocrystals bound by high-index facets. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 49, 6328-6332 (2010).
29. Fabregat-Santiago, F. et al. Correlation between photovoltaic performance and impedance spectroscopy of dye-sensitized solar cells based on ionic liquids. J. Phys. Chem. C 111, 6550-6560 (2007). (Pubitemid 46787884)
30. Chen, J. et al. A flexible carbon counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells. Carbon 47, 2704-2708 (2009).
31. Wu, M. et al. High-performance phosphide/carbon counter electrode for both iodide and organic redox couples in dye-sensitized solar cells. J. Mater. Chem. 22, 11121-11127 (2012).
32. Murakami, T. N. & Grätzel, M. Counter electrodes for DSC: application of functional materials as catalysts. Inorg. Chim. Acta 361, 572-580 (2008).
33. Zakeeruddin, S. M. & Grätzel, M. Solvent-free ionic liquid electrolytes for mesoscopic dye-sensitized solar cells. Adv. Funct. Mater. 19, 2187-2202 (2009).
34. Kresse, G. & Furthmüller, J. Efficiency of ab-initio total energy calculations for metals and semiconductors using a plane-wave basis set. Comput. Mater. Sci. 6, 15-50 (1996). (Pubitemid 126412269)
35. Kresse, G. & Hafner, J. Ab initio molecular-dynamics simulation of the liquid-metal-amorphous-semiconductor transition in germanium. Phys. Rev. B 49, 14251-14269 (1994).
36. Alavi, A., Hu, P., Deutsch, T., Silvestrelli, P. L. & Hutter, J. CO oxidation on Pt(111): an ab initio density functional theory study. Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 3650-3653 (1998). (Pubitemid 128631098)
37. Canepa, P., Schofield, E., Chadwick, A. V. & Alfredsson, M. Comparison of a calculated and measured XANES spectrum of a-Fe#inf#2#/ inf#O#inf#3#/inf#. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 13, 12826-12834 (2011).
38. Ito, S. et al. Fabrication of thin film dye sensitized solar cells with solar to electric power conversion efficiency over 10%. Thin Solid Films 516, 4613-4619 (2008). (Pubitemid 351601594)