Covalent bond–grafted soluble poly(o-methoxyaniline)-graphene oxide composite materials fabricated as counter electrodes of dye-sensitised solar cells

Abstract

Covalent bond–grafted soluble poly(o-methoxyaniline)–functional graphene oxide (POMA-FGO) nanocomposite materials were prepared and doped with 1S-(+)-camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) as counter electrodes (CEs) for realising dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs). DSSCs with the POMA-FGO and POMA-FGO-CSA CEs exhibited substantially reduced interfacial impedance, which may be attributed to dual improvement from the well-dispersed FGO and the doping effect of CSA. Therefore, the efficiency levels of the DSSCs fabricated with the POMA-FGO CEs were higher than those of the DSSCs fabricated with the POMA CEs. When CSA was doped with the CEs, the efficiency of the DSSC was further enhanced. In particular, the efficiency of a DSSC based on the POMA-FGO (0.5%)-CSA (16%) CEs reached 8.81%, which was higher than that of a DSSC with a conventional platinum electrode. Therefore, POMA-FGO-CSA–based CEs can serve as a potential alternative to expensive platinum CEs.