Carbonaceous materials and their advances as a counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells: challenges and prospects.
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) serve as low-costing alternatives to silicon solar cells because of their low material and fabrication costs. Usually, they utilize Pt as the counter electrode (CE) to catalyze the iodine redox couple and to complete the electric circuit. Given that Pt is a rare and expensive metal, various carbon materials have been intensively investigated because of their low costs, high surface areas, excellent electrochemical stabilities, reasonable electrochemical activities, and high corrosion resistances. In this feature article, we provide an overview of recent studies on the electrochemical properties and photovoltaic performances of carbon-based CEs (e.g., activated carbon, nanosized carbon, carbon black, graphene, graphite, carbon nanotubes, and composite carbon). We focus on scientific challenges associated with each material and highlight recent advances achieved in overcoming these obstacles. Finally, we discuss possible future directions for this field of research aimed at obtaining highly efficient DSSCs.
Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 54100 (Malaysia).
Mojgan
M
Kouhnavard
Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi, 43600, Selangor (Malaysia).
Norasikin Ahmad
NA
Ludin
Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 54100 (Malaysia).
Babak V
BV
Ghaffari
Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi, 43600, Selangor (Malaysia).
Kamarozzaman
K
Sopian
Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 54100 (Malaysia). ikeda.kl@utm.my.
Shoichiro
S
Ikeda
D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004566:Electrodes; D012993:Solar Energy
D004396:Coloring Agents; D002244:Carbon
electrochemistry; photovoltaics; semiconductors; sensitizers; solar cells