title: Podlike N-doped carbon nanotubes encapsulating FeNi alloy nanoparticles: high-performance counter electrode materials for dye-sensitized solar cells.
abstract: Podlike nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes encapsulating FeNi alloy nanoparticles (Pod(N)-FeNi) were prepared by the direct pyrolysis of organometallic precursors. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and Tafel polarization measurements revealed their excellent electrocatalytic activities in the I(-)/I3(-) redox reaction of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). This is suggested to arise from the modification of the surface electronic properties of the carbon by the encapsulated metal alloy nanoparticles (NPs). Sequential scanning with EIS and CV further showed the high electrochemical stability of the Pod(N)-FeNi composite. DSSCs with Pod(N)-FeNi as the counter electrode (CE) presented a power conversion efficiency of 8.82%, which is superior to that of the control device with sputtered Pt as the CE. The Pod(N)-FeNi composite thus shows promise as an environmentally friendly, low-cost, and highly efficient CE material for DSSCs.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian 116023 (China).
authors.forename: Xiaojia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Dehui
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Wen-Hua
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xinhe
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Can
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: FeNi alloys; carbon nanotubes; electrocatalysis; non-precious metals; solar cells