Abstract
Improvement in the mass transport of the considerably large sized cobalt(ii/iii) complexes, particularly in a high viscosity electrolyte, is crucial for solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (SS-DSCs) to reach a reliable high efficiency for practical applications. In this study, titania nanorod aggregates (TNA) with a large specific surface area and well-developed crystalline network were utilized as photoanode building blocks for application in a cobalt(ii/iii) tris(2′2-bipyridine) complexes-based solid-state electrolyte. An initial efficiency excess of 7.1% and a long term stable efficiency of approximately 8.0% were achieved under full sun illumination by the freshly assembled and aged TNA SS-DSCs, respectively. This represents dramatic enhancements of nearly 35% and 100% against the SS-DSCs prepared from two standard TiO2 nanoparticle samples-CCIC (approx. 5.9%) and Degussa P25 (approx. 4.0%), correspondingly. The TNA is characterised by a combination of mesopores within each aggregate and macro inter-aggregate voids, a high specific surface area and great light scattering ability; such features make the aggregates superior photoanode building blocks for their application in bulky cobalt redox mediator based SS-DSCs systems.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 4875-4883 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Materials Chemistry C |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 20 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2017 |