This study describes a systematic approach of TiO2/carbon black nanoparticles with respect to the loading amount in order to optimize the catalytic ability of triiodide reduction for dye-sensitized solar cells. In particular, the cell using an optimized TiO2 and carbon black electrode presents an energy conversion efficiency of 7.4% with a 5:1 ratio of a 40-nm TiO2 to carbon black. Based on the...

In this work, novel MoS2/nitrogen-doped carbon shell–core microspheres (MNCS) have been designed and prepared through the microwave-assisted method, and used as counter electrodes for platinum-free dyesensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The results show that as-prepared shell–core composite microspheres possess low charge transfer resistance and high electrocatalytic activity. When used as a counte...

Due to the two-dimensional confinement of electrons, single- and few-layer MoSe₂ nanostructures exhibit unusual optical and electrical properties and have found wide applications in catalytic hydrogen evolution reaction, field effect transistor, electrochemical intercalation, and so on. Here we present a new application in dye-sensitized solar cell as catalyst for the reduction of I₃(-) to I(-)...

Improved Photocurrent of a Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-ClO4 /TiO2 Thin Filmmodifi ed Counter Electrode for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells Sho Sakurai, Yuka Kawamata, Masashi Takahashi and Koichi Kobayashi 2* 1 Department of Chemistry and Energy Engineering, Tokyo City University, Tokyo 158-8557, JAPAN 2 Research Center for Energy and Environmental Science, Advance Research Laboratory, Tokyo C...

Enhanced performance was observed for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) utilizing counter electrodes based on Pt electrodeposits compared to counter electrodes based on sputtered Pt. Scanning electron microscopy of Pt electrodeposits revealed that the use of an initial cathodic overpotential pulse followed by steady electrodeposition at a mild cathodic potential yielded ∼40nm particles, compar...

We describe an electrochemical cell containing a single faradic electrode (a Pt ultramicroelectrode) and a blocked (polarized) electrode (Si with an insulating SiO2 film) that served as a capacitive counter electrode. When a bias was applied between the two electrodes, a current was observed from a faradic process at Pt and a capacitive current at the blocking electrode. A steady charging curre...

Electrochemical stripping analysis (anodic, cathodic, or adsorptive) is usually based on the pre-concentration of a target analyte working electrode surface and then measuring its quantity via direct quantitative electrochemical transformation (with refreshed afterwards). In this work, we demonstrate new approach to carry out non-adsorbing species, thus not being directly pre-concentrated (WE),...

We report on a lithographic mode of electrochemically triggered free radical polymerization. The polymerization is initiated by the reduction of an electrochemically active initiator. Hydrogel patterns can be written by employing a small insulated counter electrode. The investigations show that the "pen" actually is a small oxygen bubble between the counter electrode and the sample surface. The...

Hard carbon spherule (HCS) has been investigated as a counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells. The overall conversion efficiency of the cell reached 5.7%, which is comparable to 6.5% of the counter electrode of platinum-sputtered fluorine-doped tin oxide used in Grätzel-type solar cells under the same experimental condition. It is found that the photovoltaic performance was strongly af...

We report on a new counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), which is prepared using layer-by-layer assembly of negatively charged graphene oxide and positively charged poly (diallyldimethylammonium chloride) followed by an electrochemical reduction procedure. The DSC devises using the heteroleptic Ru complex C106TBA as sensitizer and this new counter electrode reach power conver...