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Graphical abstract Co/Se and Ni/Se nanocomposite films deposited on FTO glasses via magnetron sputtering are used as counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells, yielding a maximized power conversion efficiency of 6.43%. Highlights: • Co/Se and Ni/Se nano-films are prepared by magnetron sputtering method. • The as-prepared films are employed as CEs for DSSCs. • The DSSC with Co/Se CE delivers a PCE of 6.43%. Abstract Dye-sensitized solar cells are promising solutions to energy and environmental problems. By addressing the high cost of preferred platinum counter electrode, Co/Se and Ni/Se nanocomposite counter electrodes are prepared by magnetron sputtering targets onto fluorine-doped tin oxide glass for dye-sensitized solar cell applications. The binary nanocomposite counter electrodes exhibit superior electrocatalytic activity toward I 3 − reduction compared to pure Ni, Se and Co electrodes. In particular, the dye-sensitized solar cell based on Co/Se counter electrode achieves a power conversion efficiency of 6.43%, which is much higher than 0.87%, 2.91%, 3.77% and 5.23% for Ni, Se, Co and Ni/Se solar cells, respectively. The preliminary results demonstrate it is a promising strategy to prepare robust counter electrodes by magnetron sputtering technique for dye-sensitized solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Developing efficient and cost-effective counter electrodes (CEs) to catalyze triiodide reduction reaction is a persistent objective for high-performance dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). One promising solution is to design electron-enriched electrode materials by combining conductive polymers with alloys. In this work, ternary hybrid PtM@polyaniline (M = Ni, FeNi) CEs are synthesized by one-step replacement reaction and in-situ polymerization reaction. When assembling into liquid-junction DSSCs, the power conversion efficiencies of 8.52% and 8.39% for the devices tailored with PtNi@polyaniline and PtFeNi@polyaniline CEs can be obtained. The experimental results demonstrate that the enhanced photovoltaic performances are mainly attributed to matching work function and high electrocatalytic activity of these well-designed hybrid CEs. Arising from the competitive reactions between transition metal and I 2 /I 3 − species, the dissolution reaction of Pt in liquid electrolyte is restricted and therefore the long-term stability of corresponding devices are significantly enhanced. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Ternary hybrid PtM@PANi CEs are prepared by one-step method. • Ternary hybrid PtM@PANi CEs are used for DSSC applications. • The hybrid CEs present matching work functions and enhanced catalytic activities. • The device yields a maximized PCE of 8.52% under one sun illumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]