Recent Development of Graphene-Based Cathode Materials for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

• Main Authors: Man-Ning Lu, Chin-Yu Chang, Tzu-Chien Wei, Jeng-Yu Lin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2016-01-01
• Series: Journal of Nanomaterials
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/4742724

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted extensive attention for serving as potential low-cost alternatives to silicon-based solar cells. As a vital role of a typical DSSC, the counter electrode (CE) is generally employed to collect electrons via the external circuit and speed up the reduction reaction of I3- to I- in the redox electrolyte. The noble Pt is usually deposited on a conductive glass substrate as CE material due to its excellent electrical conductivity, electrocatalytic activity, and electrochemical stability. To achieve cost-efficient DSSCs, reasonable efforts have been made to explore Pt-free alternatives. Recently, the graphene-based CEs have been intensively investigated to replace the high-cost noble Pt CE. In this paper, we provided an overview of studies on the electrochemical and photovoltaic characteristics of graphene-based CEs, including graphene, graphene/Pt, graphene/carbon materials, graphene/conducting polymers, and graphene/inorganic compounds. We also summarize the design and advantages of each graphene-based material and provide the possible directions for designing new graphene-based catalysts in future research for high-performance and low-cost DSSCs.