title: Reduced graphene oxide-TaON composite as a high-performance counter electrode for Co(bpy)3(3+/2+)-mediated dye-sensitized solar cells.
abstract: We report herein the investigation of TaON nanoparticles incorporating a reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposite as a counter electrode for application in Co(bpy)3(3+/2+) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine)-mediated dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The RGO-TaON nanocomposite has been prepared by mixing graphene oxide (GO) and presynthesized TaON nanoparticles in ethanol/water followed by the facile hydrazine hydrate reduction of GO to RGO. Compared with RGO or TaON alone, the RGO-TaON nanocomposite shows a much higher electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of Co(bpy)3(3+) species owing to synergistic effects, resulting in significantly improved solar-cell performance when it is applied as the counter electrode in DSSCs. An efficiency of 7.65% for the DSSC with the RGO-TaON counter electrode is obtained, competing with the efficiency produced by the Pt counter electrode; additionally, the former exhibits a much better electrochemical stability than the latter in a Co(bpy)3(3+/2+) acetonitrile solution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Lab of Advanced Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Fudan University, 2205 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, PR China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Quanyou
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Zhong-Sheng
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D012993:Solar Energy
chemical_list: D010087:Oxides; D006108:Graphite