New Insights into Improving the Photovoltaic Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells by Removing Platinum from the Counter Electrode Using a Graphene-MoS<sub>2</sub> Composite or Hybrid
Mozhgan Hosseinnezhad,
Mehdi Ghahari,
Ghazal Mobarhan,
Mohsen Fathi,
Arvydas Palevicius,
Venkatramaiah Nutalapati,
Giedrius Janusas,
Sohrab Nasiri
Affiliations
Mozhgan Hosseinnezhad
Department of Organic Colourants, Institute for Colour Science and Technology, Tehran P.O. Box 16765-654, Iran
Mehdi Ghahari
Department of Nanomaterials and Nanocoatings, Institute for Colour Science and Technology, Tehran P.O. Box 16765-654, Iran
Ghazal Mobarhan
Department of Nanomaterials and Nanocoatings, Institute for Colour Science and Technology, Tehran P.O. Box 16765-654, Iran
Mohsen Fathi
Department of Physics, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood P.O. Box 36155-316, Iran
Arvydas Palevicius
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Design, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu Street 56, LT 51373 Kaunas, Lithuania
Venkatramaiah Nutalapati
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu, India
Giedrius Janusas
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Design, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu Street 56, LT 51373 Kaunas, Lithuania
Sohrab Nasiri
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Design, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu Street 56, LT 51373 Kaunas, Lithuania
Photovoltaic systems, such as dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), are one of the useful tools for generating renewable and green energy. To develop this technology, obstacles such as cost and the use of expensive compounds must be overcome. Here, we employed a new MoS2/graphene hybrid or composite instead of platinum in the DSSCs. Furthermore, the correctness of the preparation of the MoS2/graphene hybrid or composite was evaluated by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), and the results showed that the desired compound was synthesized correctly. Inexpensive organic dyes were used to prepare the DSSCs, and their chemical structure was investigated by density functional theory (DFT) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Finally, the DSSCs were fabricated using MoS2/graphene composite or hybrid, and to compare the results, the DSSCs were also prepared using platinum. Under the same conditions, the DSSCs with MoS2/graphene composite illustrated better efficiency than MoS2/graphene hybrid or/and graphene.
