Platinum counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells prepared by one-step dipping process

Abstract

When designing counter electrodes (CEs) to enhance the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), facile routes are important features. Platinum (Pt) metal is one of the most-promising CE designs for DSSCs. Herein, we developed a simple, and cost-effective one-step dipping process for preparing Pt CEs in DSSCs. The Pt CEs were prepared by dipping fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) in a 3-mercaptopropyl triethoxysilane (MTS)-Pt suspension. We tested and compared MTS-1-Pt, MTS-10-Pt, and sputtered-Pt as CEs in DSSCs. MTS-1-Pt and MTS-10-Pt refer to samples prepared with 1 and 10 ml of MTS, respectively. DSSCs with MTS-1-Pt CEs exhibited power conversion efficiency (PCE) values as high as 8.28%, which was superior to the DSSCs using MTS-10-Pt as the CEs (1.61%). Additionally, the DSSCs with MTS-1-Pt CE showed mostly similar PCEs compared to those with sputtered-Pt (8.55%) because of the same catalytic activity with iodide. Thus, this modified Pt CE facile process can be used to further enhance the performance of DSSCs.