Electrodeposited MnO2-NiO Composites as a Pt Free Counter Electrode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

Manganese oxide-Nickel oxide (MnO2-NiO) has been successfully deposited on Fluorine doped Tin Oxide (FTO) glass electrode using a facile, effective and low cost electrodeposition process and was used as counter electrode (CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The cells were characterized using electrochemical impedance spectra and cyclic voltammetry, which revealed enhanced electrocatalytic ability for the reduction of triiodide/iodide (I3− to I−). Further, the photocurrent–voltage (J–V) characteristics under the illumination of 100 mW/cm2 were studied. The DSSC with MnO2-NiO CE revealed higher short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 0.3 mA/cm2, open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.83 V, and fill factor of 0.84. This suggests that the electrodeposited MnO2-NiO coated FTO electrode can be used to replace the commonly employed and expensive metal platinum (Pt) in DSSC.