A high performance Pt-free counter electrode of nickel sulfide/multi-wall carbon nanotube/titanium used in dye-sensitized solar cells

Yaoming Xiao; Jihuai Wu; Jengyu Lin; Gentian Yue; Jianming Lin; Miaoliang Huang; Yunfang Huang; Zhang Lan; Leqing Fan

doi:10.1039/C3TA12972A

A high performance Pt-free counter electrode of nickel sulfide/multi-wall carbon nanotube/titanium used in dye-sensitized solar cells†

Yaoming Xiao,^ab Jihuai Wu,*^a Jengyu Lin,^c Gentian Yue,^a Jianming Lin,^a Miaoliang Huang,^a Yunfang Huang,^a Zhang Lan^a and Leqing Fan^a

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* Corresponding authors

^a Institute of Materials Physical Chemistry, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou, P. R. China
E-mail: jhwu@hqu.edu.cn
Fax: +86 595-22692229
Tel: +86 595-22693899

^b Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, P. R. China

^c Department of Chemical Engineering, Tatung University, Taipei 104, Taiwan

Abstract

Multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were deposited on a titanium (Ti) foil substrate by using electrophoresis, then a nano-corallines nickel sulfide (NiS) was deposited on the MWCNTs by using a pulse potentiostatic method. The high performance NiS/MWCNT/Ti hybrid film was firstly used as a Pt-free counter electrode (CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The surface of MWCNTs was wrapped with a nano-corallines NiS thin film of ∼45 nm in thickness. Under full sunlight illumination (100 mW cm⁻², AM 1.5 G), DSSCs with a NiS/MWCNT/Ti CE achieved an enhanced photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 7.90%, while DSSCs with a Pt/Ti CE obtained the efficiency of 6.36%. The characterization of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) indicated that nano-corallines NiS had high electrocatalytic activity for I₃⁻ reduction, MWCNTs had high specific surface area and low resistance, and the synergistic effect of NiS and MWCNTs endowed the superior features of the hybrid film. Therefore, the NiS/MWCNT/Ti CE can be used as a promising alternative CE in low-cost and large-scale DSSCs.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C3TA12972A
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 30 Jul 2013
Accepted: 12 Sep 2013
First published: 12 Sep 2013

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J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 13885-13889

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A high performance Pt-free counter electrode of nickel sulfide/multi-wall carbon nanotube/titanium used in dye-sensitized solar cells

Y. Xiao, J. Wu, J. Lin, G. Yue, J. Lin, M. Huang, Y. Huang, Z. Lan and L. Fan, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, 1, 13885 DOI: 10.1039/C3TA12972A

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Journal of Materials Chemistry A

A high performance Pt-free counter electrode of nickel sulfide/multi-wall carbon nanotube/titanium used in dye-sensitized solar cells†

Abstract

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A high performance Pt-free counter electrode of nickel sulfide/multi-wall carbon nanotube/titanium used in dye-sensitized solar cells

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