Enhanced Performance of Carbon–Selenide Composite with La<sub>0.9</sub>Ce<sub>0.1</sub>NiO<sub>3</sub> Perovskite Oxide for Outstanding Counter Electrodes in Platinum-Free Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Arnauld Robert Tapa,
Wanchun Xiang,
Senwei Wu,
Bin Li,
Qiufen Liu,
Mingfeng Zhang,
Marzieh Ghadamyari,
Francis Verpoort,
Jichao Wang,
Albert Trokourey,
Xiujian Zhao
Affiliations
Arnauld Robert Tapa
State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road, Wuhan 430070, China
Wanchun Xiang
State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road, Wuhan 430070, China
Senwei Wu
State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road, Wuhan 430070, China
Bin Li
State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road, Wuhan 430070, China
Qiufen Liu
State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road, Wuhan 430070, China
Mingfeng Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road, Wuhan 430070, China
Marzieh Ghadamyari
Laboratory of Organometallics, Catalysis and Ordered Materials, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Francis Verpoort
Laboratory of Organometallics, Catalysis and Ordered Materials, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Jichao Wang
Laboratory of Organometallics, Catalysis and Ordered Materials, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Albert Trokourey
Laboratory of Constitution and Reaction of Matter, Training and Research Unit for Structural Sciences of Matter and Technology, Félix Houphouët-Boigny University of Cocody-Abidjan, Abidjan 22 BP 582, Côte d’Ivoire
Xiujian Zhao
State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road, Wuhan 430070, China
For large-scale applications, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) require the replacement of the scarce platinum (Pt)-based counter electrode (CE) with efficient and cheap alternatives. In this respect, low-cost perovskite oxides (ABO3) have been introduced as promising additives to composite-based CEs in Pt-free DSSCs. Herein, we synthesized composites from La0.9Ce0.1NiO3 (L) perovskite oxide and functionalized-multiwall-carbon-nanotubes wrapped in selenides derived from metal-organic-frameworks (f-MWCNT-ZnSe-CoSe2, “F”). L and F were then mixed with carbon black (CB) in different mass ratios to prepare L@CB, F@CB, and L@F@CB composites. The electrochemical analysis revealed that the L@F@CB composite with a mass ratio of 1.5:3:1.5 exhibits better electrocatalytic activity than Pt. In addition, the related DSSC reached a better PCE of 7.49% compared to its Pt-based counterpart (7.09%). This improved performance is the result of the increase in the oxygen vacancy by L due to the replacement of La with Ce in its structure, leading to more active sites in the L@F@CB composites. Moreover, the F@CB composite favors the contribution to the high electrical conductivity of the hybrid carbon nanotube–carbon black, which also offers good stability to the L@F@CB CE by not showing any obvious change in morphology and peak-to-peak separation even after 100 cyclic voltammetry cycles. Consequently, the corresponding L@F@CB-based device achieved enhanced stability. Our work demonstrates that L@F@CB composites with a low cost are excellent alternatives to Pt CE in DSSCs.
