Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Aftabuzzaman, M
• Kim, Chang Ki
• Zhou, Haoran
• Kim, Hwan Kyu

Titel

preparation of Ru-N-doped template-free mesoporous carbons as a transparent counter electrode for bifacial dye-sensitized solar cells

Ist Teil von

• Nanoscale, 2020-01, Vol.12 (3), p.162-1616

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The development of a highly active, long-lasting, and cost-effective electrocatalyst as an alternative to platinum (Pt) is a vital issue for the commercialization of dye-sensitized solar cells. In this study, Ru-N-doped template-free mesoporous carbon (Ru-N-TMC) was prepared by the direct stabilization and carbonization of the poly(butyl acrylate)- b -polyacrylonitrile (PBA- b -PAN) block copolymer and ruthenium( iii ) acetylacetonate [Ru(acac) 3 ]. During the stabilization process, microphase separation occurred in the PBA- b -PAN block copolymer due to the incompatibility between the two blocks, and the PAN block transformed to N-doped semi-graphitic carbon. In the carbonization step, the PBA block was eliminated as a porous template, creating hierarchal mesopores/micropores. Meanwhile, Ru(acac) 3 was decomposed to Ru, which was homogeneously distributed over the carbon substrate and anchored through N and O heteroatoms. The resulting Ru-N-TMC showed ultra-low charge transfer resistance ( R ct = 0.034 Ω cm 2 ) in the Co(bipyridine) 3 3+/2+ reduction reaction, indicating very high electrocatalytic ability. Even though it is a transparent counter electrode (CE, average visible transmittance of 42.25%), covering a small fraction of the fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO)/glass substrate with Ru-N-TMC, it led to lower charge transfer resistance ( R ct = 0.55 Ω cm 2 ) compared to Pt ( R ct = 1.00 Ω cm 2 ). The Ru-N-TMC counter electrode exhibited a superior power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 11.42% compared to Pt (11.16%) when employed in SGT-021/Co(bpy) 3 3+/2+ based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Furthermore, a remarkable PCE of 10.13% and 8.64% from front and rear illumination, respectively, was obtained when the Ru-N-TMC counter electrode was employed in a bifacial DSSC. The outstanding catalytic activity and PCE of Ru-N-TMC were due to the high surface area of Ru-N-TMC, which contained numerous active species (Ru and N), easily facilitated to redox ions through the hierarchical microporous/mesoporous structure. Ru-N-doped template-free mesoporous carbons were prepared as transparent counter electrode for bifacial dye-sensitized solar cells by in situ stabilization and carbonization of poly(butyl acrylate)- b -polyacrylonitrile block copolymer and Ru(acac) 2 .