title: Enhanced performance of supported HfO2 counter electrodes for redox couples used in dye-sensitized solar cells.
abstract: Mesoporous-graphitic-carbon-supported HfO2 (HfO2 -MGC) nanohybrids were synthesized by using a soft-template route. Characterization and a systematic investigation of the catalytic properties, stability, and catalytic mechanism were performed for HfO2 -MGC counter electrodes (CEs) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The new HfO2 -MGC as a CE in DSSCs showed a surprisingly high efficiency of 7.75 % for the triiodide/iodide redox couple and 3.69 % for the disulfide/thiolate redox couple, greater than the Pt electrode in the corresponding electrolyte system, which opens up a possibility for its practical application.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials & Mineral Resources, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710055 (PR China), Fax: (+86) 029-85535724. alexsyun1974@aliyun.com, alexsyun_DSC@163.com.
authors.forename: Sining
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Haihui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pu
authors.forename: Junhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hagfeldt
authors.forename: Tingli
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004566:Electrodes; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry; D006195:Hafnium / Q000737:chemistry*; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D011789:Quantum Theory; D013472:Sunlight
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D010087:Oxides; C545179:hafnium oxide; D006108:Graphite; D006195:Hafnium
keywords: density functional calculations; dye/pigments; electrochemistry; energy conversion; hafnium