Nanocomposites of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes and Titanium dioxide (MWCNTs/TiO2) as affective counter electrode materials for Platinum-free Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs)

Abstract

Platinum is commonly used as a catalyst to regenerate the redox mediator in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs). This work intends to replace the expensive and rare platinum with conventional and economical materials. Nanocomposites of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) and TiO2 can be used as active catalyst materials for the counter-electrode of DSSC. In these composites, MWCNTs provide catalytic properties, and TiO2 acts as a binder. The interaction between MWCNTs and TiO2 has been investigated by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). It has been observed that DSSCs photovoltaic performance significantly depends on the concentration of MWCNTs in nanocomposites. The amount of MWCNTs has been optimized for the best performance of DSSC. The solar cell assembled with 4%MWCNTs catalyst material showed an efficiency of 8.81%, comparable to Pt-based device (9.40%), fabricated under analogous environment.