Interface Functionalization of Photoelectrodes with Graphene for High Performance Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells |
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Authors: | Tao Chen Weihua Hu Junling Song Guan Hong Guai Chang Ming Li |
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Affiliation: | 1. School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and Center for Advanced Bionanosystems, Nanyang Technological University, 70 Nanyang Drive, 637457, Singapore;2. Institute for Clean Energy & Advanced Materials, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China;3. Chongqing Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Technologies of Clean Electrical Power Sources, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China |
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Abstract: | The microstructures of photo‐ and counter‐electrodes play critical roles in the performance of dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In particular, various interfaces, such as fluorinated‐tin oxide (FTO)/TiO2, TiO2/TiO2, and TiO2/electrolyte, in DSSCs significantly affect the final power conversion efficiency (PCE). However, research has generally focused more on the design of various nanostructured semiconducting materials with emphasis on optimizing chemical or/and physical properties, and less on these interface functionalizations for performance improvement. This work explores a new application of graphene to modify the interface of FTO/TiO2 to suppress charge recombination. In combination with interfaces functionalization of TiO2/TiO2 for low charge‐transport resistance and high charge‐transfer rate, the final PCE of DSSC is remarkably improved from 5.80% to 8.13%, achieving the highest efficiency in comparison to reported graphene/TiO2‐based DSSCs. The method of using graphene to functionalize the surface of FTO substrate provides a better alternative method to the conventional pre‐treatment through hydrolyzing TiCl4 and an approach to reduce the adverse effect of microstructural defect of conducting glass substrate for electronic devices. |
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Keywords: | graphene photovoltaic devices charge transport electrodes |
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