Title :
Fabrication of dye sensitized solar cells with cost-effective quaternary sulfide counter electrode
Author :
Mokurala, Krishnaiah ; Kamble, Anvita ; Bhargava, Parag ; Mallick, Sudhanshu
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Metall. Eng. & Mater. Sci., Indian Inst. of Technol. Bombay, Mumbai, India
Abstract :
The objective of the present study is to develop a platinum (Pt)-free counter electrodes with quaternary sulfide Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) and also to study the effect of compact layer on device performance. CZTS nanoparticles were synthesized by solvothermal process and extensive characterization using XRD, Raman Spectroscopy, FEG-SEM and FEG-TEM was carried out. Synthesized CZTS particles were in the form of nanosheets, consisting of nanorods, which was confirmed by FEG-TEM. CZTS films were coated on FTO (Fluorine doped tin oxide) substrate by inexpensive drop casting method. Electrochemical catalytic activity of CZTS counter electrode was studied using cyclic voltammetry. Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) fabricated with CZTS as counter electrode showed photo conversion efficiency of 7.56% as compared to Pt based counter electrode 8.34 % efficiency. The charge transport at CZTS-electrolyte interface was studied with the help of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.
Keywords :
casting; catalysis; catalysts; copper compounds; dye-sensitised solar cells; electrochemical electrodes; nanofabrication; nanoparticles; platinum compounds; solvation; sulphur compounds; tin compounds; zinc compounds; Cu2ZnSnS4; FEG-SEM; FEG-TEM; FTO substrate; Raman spectroscopy; XRD; compact layer; copper zinc tin sulfide films; copper zinc tin sulfide nanoparticle synthesis; cost-effective quaternary sulfide counter electrode; cyclic voltammetry; drop casting method; dye sensitized solar cell fabrication; electrochemical catalytic activity; electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; fluorine doped tin oxide; platinum-free counter electrodes; quaternary sulfide; solvothermal process; Decision support systems; Electrodes; Films; Photovoltaic cells; Radiation detectors; Substrates; Current-voltage characteristics; Electrodes; Nanostructured materials; Photovoltaic cells; Scanning electron microscopy;
Conference_Titel :
Power Electronics, Drives and Energy Systems (PEDES), 2014 IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Mumbai
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4799-6372-0
DOI :
10.1109/PEDES.2014.7042021
