Pt-graphene electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

• Published in: Materials science & engineering. B, Solid-state materials for advanced technology Vol. 190; pp. 47 - 51
• Main Authors: Hoshi, Hajime, Tanaka, Shumpei, Miyoshi, Takashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.12.2014
• Subjects: Dye-sensitized solar cell; Dyes; Electrodes; Graphene; Nanoparticle; Nanoparticles; Nanostructure; Pastes; Platinum; Voltammetry; Dye-sensitized solar cell; Graphene; Nanoparticle
• ISSN: 0921-5107; 1873-4944
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mseb.2014.09.003

•Graphene films with Pt nanoparticles were prepared from commercial graphene.•Pt consumption can be reduced by using Pt-graphene films.•The film showed improved catalytic activity for the reaction I3−/I−.•The film can be used as the counter electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).•The performance of DSSC was superior to that of the Pt electrode. A simple paste method for fabricating graphene films with Pt nanoparticles was developed. First, graphene pastes with Pt nanoparticles were prepared from commercially available graphene. The resulting films of graphene nanoplatelet aggregates with Pt nanoparticles (Pt-GNA) contained Pt nanoparticles distributed over the entire three-dimensional surface of the GNA. Then, the catalytic activity for the I3−/I− redox reaction was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. The GNA electrode exhibited higher activity than a graphene nanoplatelet electrode because of its higher effective surface area. Addition of Pt nanoparticles to the electrodes improved the catalytic activity. In particular, a large Faradaic current for the I3−/I− reaction was observed for the Pt-GNA electrode. As the counter electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), their performance was consistent with the cyclic voltammetry results. In particular, the DSSC performance of the Pt-GNA electrode was superior to that of the Pt electrodes commonly used in DSSCs.