Reduced graphene oxide on the performance of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell

Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a third generation solar cell which provides a good research platform for future photovoltaic technologies. DSSC can be categorized into two types based on the nature of its electrolyte, namely liquid and solid-state. In general, DSSC with liquid-based electrolyte has risk of electrolyte leakage. Therefore, the utilization of solid-state hole transport materials instead of liquid electrolytes can overcome the leakage issue of liquid-based DSSC. Despite of this advantage, the performance of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell (SS-DSSC) is low compared to the cell that uses liquid electrolyte. To remedy this, doping with foreign materials is used to enhance the performance of the solar cell. Hence, this work focuses on the effect of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) on the performance of SS-DSSC utilizing TiO₂ nanoparticles. The electrode samples were characterized with scanning electrode microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, UV-Visible spectroscopy, IV test, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). By introducing RGO into SS-DSSC, the efficiency and fill factor was improved by at least 15%. Moreover, the presence of RGO increased the electron lifetime with higher recombination resistance as observed from EIS result.