Enhanced Performance of Carbon–Selenide Composite with La0.9Ce0.1NiO3 Perovskite Oxide for Outstanding Counter Electrodes in Platinum-Free Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Nanomaterials

Albert Trokourey¹  Francis Verpoort²  Marzieh Ghadamyari²  Jichao Wang²  Wanchun Xiang³  Qiufen Liu³  Xiujian Zhao³  Arnauld Robert Tapa³  Senwei Wu³  Mingfeng Zhang³  Bin Li³ 

[1] Laboratory of Constitution and Reaction of Matter, Training and Research Unit for Structural Sciences of Matter and Technology, Félix Houphouët-Boigny University of Cocody-Abidjan, Abidjan 22 BP 582, Côte d’Ivoire;Laboratory of Organometallics, Catalysis and Ordered Materials, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China;State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road, Wuhan 430070, China;

关键词: counter electrode;    perovskite oxide;    carbon materials;    metal selenides;    metal-organic-frameworks;   

DOI  :  10.3390/nano12060961

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

For large-scale applications, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) require the replacement of the scarce platinum (Pt)-based counter electrode (CE) with efficient and cheap alternatives. In this respect, low-cost perovskite oxides (ABO₃) have been introduced as promising additives to composite-based CEs in Pt-free DSSCs. Herein, we synthesized composites from La_0.9Ce_0.1NiO₃ (L) perovskite oxide and functionalized-multiwall-carbon-nanotubes wrapped in selenides derived from metal-organic-frameworks (f-MWCNT-ZnSe-CoSe₂, “F”). L and F were then mixed with carbon black (CB) in different mass ratios to prepare L@CB, F@CB, and L@F@CB composites. The electrochemical analysis revealed that the L@F@CB composite with a mass ratio of 1.5:3:1.5 exhibits better electrocatalytic activity than Pt. In addition, the related DSSC reached a better PCE of 7.49% compared to its Pt-based counterpart (7.09%). This improved performance is the result of the increase in the oxygen vacancy by L due to the replacement of La with Ce in its structure, leading to more active sites in the L@F@CB composites. Moreover, the F@CB composite favors the contribution to the high electrical conductivity of the hybrid carbon nanotube–carbon black, which also offers good stability to the L@F@CB CE by not showing any obvious change in morphology and peak-to-peak separation even after 100 cyclic voltammetry cycles. Consequently, the corresponding L@F@CB-based device achieved enhanced stability. Our work demonstrates that L@F@CB composites with a low cost are excellent alternatives to Pt CE in DSSCs.

【 授权许可】

Unknown