Low-cost transparent counter electrodes (CEs) for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are prepared by using nanohybrids of carbon nanotube (CNT)-supported platinum nanoparticles as highly active catalysts. The nanohybrids, synthesized by an ionic-liquid-assisted sonochemical method, are directly deposited on either rigid glass or flexible plastic substrates by a facile electrospray method for operation as CEs. Their electrochemical performances are examined by cyclic voltammetry, current density-voltage characteristics, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The CNT/Pt hybrid films exhibit high electrocatalytic activity for I(-)/I(3)(-) with a weak dependence on film thickness. A transparent CNT/Pt hybrid CE film about 100 nm thick with a transparency of about 70% (at 550 nm) can result in a high power conversion efficiency (η) of over 8.5%, which is comparable to that of pyrolysis platinum-based DSSCs, but lower cost. Furthermore, DSSC based on flexible CNT/Pt hybrid CE using indium-doped tin oxide-coated polyethylene terephthalate as the substrate also exhibits η=8.43% with J(sc)=16.85 mA cm(-2), V(oc)=780 mV, and FF=0.64, and this shows great potential in developing highly efficient flexible DSSCs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asia.201200144 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
October 2018
Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA.
We demonstrate for the first time the toxicity of carbon nanotube (CNT) metal hybrids on freshwater algae. Carbon nanotube-silver (CNT-Ag) and platinum hybrids (CNT-Pt) were synthesized and exposed to Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii), and their toxicity was compared to the pure metal salts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoscale
April 2013
Tissue Engineering and Microfluidics Laboratory, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Cnr Cooper and College Rd, Brisbane 4072, Australia.
1-Pyrenemethanol initiated hyperbranched polyglycerol (PiHP) has been synthesized and utilized to non-covalently functionalize pristine multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through π-π stacking interactions. Mediated with the PiHP coating, a variety of metal nanoparticles (Au, Ag, Pd and Pt) were in situ generated and randomly tethered on the CNT sidewalls, producing various water-soluble CNT/PiHP/metal hybrids. Particularly, the resulting CNT/PiHP/Pt hybrids possess improved metal coverage in comparison to the reported CNT/Pt nanohybrids obtained by the use of conventional non-covalent CNT surface-modifiers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChem Asian J
August 2012
MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, P.R. China.
Low-cost transparent counter electrodes (CEs) for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are prepared by using nanohybrids of carbon nanotube (CNT)-supported platinum nanoparticles as highly active catalysts. The nanohybrids, synthesized by an ionic-liquid-assisted sonochemical method, are directly deposited on either rigid glass or flexible plastic substrates by a facile electrospray method for operation as CEs. Their electrochemical performances are examined by cyclic voltammetry, current density-voltage characteristics, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements.
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