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Edge-oriented MoS2 aligned on cellular reduced graphene for enriched dye-sensitized solar cell photovoltaic efficiency

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Abstract

The counter electrode (CE) prominence in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is undisputed with research geared towards replacement of Pt with viable substitutes with exceptional conductivity and catalytic activity. Herein, we report the replaceable CE with better performance than that of Pt-based electrode. The chemistry between the graphene oxide and ice templates leads to cellular formation of reduced graphene oxide that achieves greater conductivity to the CE. The simultaneous growth of active edge-oriented MoS2 on the CE through CVD possesses high reflectivity. High reflective MoS2 trends to increase the electroactivity by absorbing more photons from the source to dye molecules. Thus, the synergistic effect of two materials was found to showcase better photovoltaic performance of 7.6% against 7.3% for traditional platinum CE.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully thank for the Science Foundation of China University of Petroleum, Beijing (2462017YJRC051 and C201603), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21776308, 21576289 and 21322609), the Science Foundation Research Funds Provided to New Recruitments of China University of Petroleum, Beijing (2462014QZDX01) and Thousand Talents Program.

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Author notes

  1. I.R. and D.K. contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102249, China

    Infant Raj, Daniel Kigen, Wang Yang, Fan Yang & Yongfeng Li

Authors
  1. Infant Raj
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  2. Daniel Kigen
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  3. Wang Yang
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  4. Fan Yang
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  5. Yongfeng Li
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Correspondence to Yongfeng Li.

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Raj, I., Kigen, D., Yang, W. et al. Edge-oriented MoS2 aligned on cellular reduced graphene for enriched dye-sensitized solar cell photovoltaic efficiency. Front. Mater. Sci. 12, 368–378 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-018-0439-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-018-0439-7

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