Abstract
MoS2/Co3S4 composite films were prepared via a facile one-step hydrothermal method, and used as efficient and low-cost Pt-free counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Characterizations revealed that Co3S4 and MoS2 were obtained simultaneously during the facile hydrothermal process. The composites afforded a promising synergistic effect on the catalyzing of triiodide reduction. Enhanced electrocatalytic performance of the resultant composite films was confirmed through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analyses. DSSCs using MoS2/Co3S4 composite CEs outperform the devices with pristine MoS2 or Co3S4 CEs in power conversion efficiency (PCE). Furthermore, a PCE of 6.77% is obtained for the optimized devices using MoS2/Co3S4 composite CEs measured under standard 1 sun illumination (100 mW cm−2, AM 1.5G), which is comparable to that of the devices fabricated under the same conditions with conventional thermally deposited Pt CEs (7.14%). The results demonstrate that MoS2/Co3S4 composites are promising alternatives to Pt to be applied as CEs for DSSCs.
摘要
染料敏化太阳电池因其成本低、稳定性好、工艺简便而备受关注. 发展高性能、廉价的材料代替传统的贵金属铂对电极是当前染 料敏化太阳电池领域的研究热点之一. 二硫化钼纳米材料具有高比表面积和大量的催化位点, 是较为理想的铂对电极替代材料之一, 但较 低的电导率限制了二硫化钼对电极性能的进一步提高. 本文首次报道了由二硫化钼纳米材料与金属性的四硫化三钴复合制备染料敏化 太阳电池对电极, 该复合对电极可以利用水热方法一步合成. 研究结果表明, 使用该复合对电极的染料敏化太阳电池光电转换效率可达 6.77%, 接近于使用铂对电极的器件(7.14%), 优于使用单一二硫化钼(4.64%)或四硫化三钴(5.11%)作为对电极的器件.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11574060, 51272049 and 21103032). Li Y would like to acknowledge the support from Shaanxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation (2016JM2008) and the Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, MOE (Shaanxi Normal University).
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Feiyan Dong is currently a Master candidate in chemical engineering at Xi’an University of Science and Technology. She started her joint training at the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), China in 2015. Her research interests include inorganic composite materials and photovoltaic devices.
Yuangang Li is currently an associate professor at the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology. He received his BSc and MSc degrees from Shaanxi Normal University and then his PhD in 2008 fromthe Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). From2011 to 2013, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His research interests include photoelectrochemistry, self-assembly of functional materials, and solar energy conversion and storage.
Xiong Yin is currently an associate professor in BeijingUniversity of Chemical Technology. He holds a PhD degree in physical chemistry (2008) from the Institute of Chemistry, CAS. Then he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in National University of Singapore (2009–2010) and YamagataUniversity (2012). Hewas a facultymember inNCNST,China (2010–2016), a visiting scholar in the University of California Los Angeles (2013) and University of California Riverside (2015–2016). He specializes in dye-sensitized solar cells, perovskite-based solar cells and biochemical sensing.
Meng He is currently a staff scientist atNCNST, China. He received his PhD in condensedmatter physics fromthe Institute of Physics, CAS in 2002, and has been an employee of NCNST since 2005. His research interests include the exploration of inorganic functional crystals with potential applications in energy conversion devices and X-ray crystallography.
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Dong, F., Guo, Y., Xu, P. et al. Hydrothermal growth of MoS2/Co3S4 composites as efficient Pt-free counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells. Sci. China Mater. 60, 295–303 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-017-9009-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-017-9009-8