Nitrogen-Doped CNx/CNTs Heteroelectrocatalysts for Highly Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Aabhash Shrestha, Munkhbayar Batmunkh, Cameron Shearer, Yanting Yin, Gunther Andersson, Joseph Shapter, Shizhang Qiao, Sheng Dai

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    96 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The use of polydopamine as a nitrogen containing precursor to generate catalytically active nitrogen-doped carbon (CNx) materials on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is reported. These N-doped CNx/CNT materials display excellent electrocatalytic activity toward the reduction of triiodide electrolyte in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Further, the influence of various synthesis parameters on the catalytic performance of CNx/CNTs is investigated in detail. The best performing device fabricated with the CNx/CNTs material delivers power conversion efficiency of 7.3%, which is comparable or slightly higher than that of Pt (7.1%) counter electrode-based DSSC. These CNx/CNTs materials show great potential to address the issues associated with the Pt electrocatalyst including the high cost and scarcity.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)Art: 1602276
    Number of pages8
    JournalAdvanced Energy Materials
    Volume7
    Issue number8
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 19 Apr 2017

    Keywords

    • carbon nanotubes
    • dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs)
    • electrocatalyst
    • nitrogen doping
    • polydopamine

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Nitrogen-Doped CNx/CNTs Heteroelectrocatalysts for Highly Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this