1. Synthesis of lignite-based Ni/C composite with low-medium temperature pyrolysis method as an efficient Pt-free counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells.
- Author
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Mao, Wei, Wei, Liguo, Zhao, Lishuang, Xu, Xiaohu, Lin, Jianmin, He, Huiyi, Zhang, Xindan, and Zhang, Zihan
- Subjects
DYE-sensitized solar cells ,PHOTOVOLTAIC power systems ,SOLAR cell efficiency ,ELECTRODES ,COALFIELDS ,RAW materials ,PYROLYSIS - Abstract
In order to obtain inexpensive Pt-free counter electrode materials for dye-sensitized solar cells and expand the application fields of low-rank coal, lignite-based Ni/C composite was prepared by low-medium temperature pyrolysis method using Huolinhe lignite as raw materials. The structure and chemical components of as-synthesized lignite-based Ni/C composite was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TG, Raman, SEM, TEM, and XPS, and the electrocatalytic activity of lignite-based Ni/C composite counter electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammetric curve, electrochemical impedance spectrum, and Tafel polarization curve. It is found that the electrocatalytic activity of the lignite was improved after low-medium temperature pyrolysis and composited with Ni species to form lignite-based Ni/C composite, which helps to catalyze the reduction of electrolyte and thus improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar cells. The photoelectric conversion efficiency (η) of the dye-sensitized solar cells based on the lignite-based Ni/C composite counter electrode was 3.42% (J
sc = 11.49 mA cm−2 , Voc = 0.75 V, FF = 0.40) significantly higher than that of the lignite counter electrode (η = 0.20%, Jsc = 3.16 mA cm−2 , Voc = 0.72 V, FF = 0.09). This indicates that low-medium temperature pyrolysis and composition with Ni are an effective method to improve the photovoltaic performance of lignite-based counter electrode materials. The lignite-based Ni/C composite was synthesized and applied in counter electrode for DSSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2023
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