Low cost, platinum free counter electrode with reduced graphene oxide and polyaniline embedded SnO2 for efficient dye sensitized solar cells

[Display omitted] •A composite of Reduced Graphene Oxide, Tin Oxide and Polyaniline was studied.•Dye solar cells with this composite as counter electrode showed 7.92% efficiency.•The efficiency increased to 8.68% after TiCl4 treated TiO2 photoanode was used.•Corresponding efficiency of solar cell wi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Solar energy 2021-12, Vol.230, p.151-165
Main Authors: Dissanayake, M.A.K.L., Kumari, J.M.K.W., Senadeera, G.K.R., Anwar, Hafeez
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Beneficial use
Catalytic activity
Catalytic converters
Charge efficiency
Charge transfer
Composite materials
Conducting polymers
Dye sensitized solar cells
Dyes
Efficiency
Electrode materials
Electrodes
Energy conversion
Energy conversion efficiency
Fabrication
Graphene
Illumination
Light
Low cost
Maximum power
Nanoparticles
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaics
Platinum
Polyanilines
Polyanniline
Polymers
Raman spectra
Raman spectroscopy
Reduced grapheme oxide based counter electrode
SnO2
Solar cells
Solar energy
Tin dioxide
Tin oxide
Tin oxides
Titanium chlorides
Titanium dioxide
X-ray diffraction
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Summary:[Display omitted] •A composite of Reduced Graphene Oxide, Tin Oxide and Polyaniline was studied.•Dye solar cells with this composite as counter electrode showed 7.92% efficiency.•The efficiency increased to 8.68% after TiCl4 treated TiO2 photoanode was used.•Corresponding efficiency of solar cell with a platinum counter electrode was 9.22%. A composite consisting of Reduced Graphene Oxide (RGO), Tin Oxide (SnO2) nanoparticles and Polyaniline (PANI) conducting polymer was studied as a potential counter electrode material for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs). This RGO/SnO2/PANI composite CE was fabricated by spray method and used as an alternative to Platinum (Pt) counter electrode (CE). In the fabrication of RGO/SnO2/PANI composite CEs, several optimizations were carried out to obtain the optimum RGO sintering temperature and the optimum amounts of RGO, SnO2 and PANI. The photovoltaic performance of the DSSCs based on the newly prepared CEs was studied by using I-V measurements. The efficiency of the DSSC with the CE with optimized RGO/SnO2/PANI composition having 9.8 μm thickness was 7.92% under the 100 mW cm−2 (1.5AM) light illumination. After the TiCl4 treated TiO2 photoanode was used, the maximum power conversion efficiency of the DSSC based on the RGO/SnO2/PANI composite CE was increased to 8.68%, which corresponds to an impressive 94% of the efficiency of 9.22% obtained for the control DSSC made with Pt CE and TiCl4 treated photoanode measured under same light illumination. These composite CEs were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, FTIR spectra, SEM and TEM. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis showed the excellent electro-catalytic activity of the composite CE. With high energy conversion efficiency and improved charge-transfer process of DSSCs in combination with simple preparation and relatively low-cost technique, the RGO/SnO2/PANI composite electrode demonstrates the beneficial use of this novel composite material as CEs in DSSCs.
ISSN:0038-092X
1471-1257
DOI:10.1016/j.solener.2021.10.022