title: Engineered porous silicon counter electrodes for high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells.
abstract: In this work, we demonstrate for the first time, the use of porous silicon (P-Si) as counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with efficiencies (5.38%) comparable to that achieved with platinum counter electrodes (5.80%). To activate the P-Si for triiodide reduction, few layer carbon passivation is utilized to enable electrochemical stability of the silicon surface. Our results suggest porous silicon as a promising sustainable and manufacturable alternative to rare metals for electrochemical solar cells, following appropriate surface modification.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, ‡Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program, §Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University , Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States.
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Erwin
authors.forename: Landon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Oakes
authors.forename: Shahana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: Holly F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Zarick
authors.forename: Cary L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Pint
authors.forename: Rizia
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bardhan