A low cost, chemically stable with enhanced electrocatalytic activity counter electrodes based on
reduced graphene oxide (RGO) coating was easily deposited on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate was
developed for CdS QDSSCs. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was used as a binder for the coating to increase
the mechanical stability of RGO counter electrode through increasing its adhesion on the FTO substrate. The
structure and morphology of RGO powder were analysed by UV-visible, FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray powder
diffraction, and SEM microscopy. The electrocatalytic activity of RGO counter electrodes were investigated by
cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The QDSSCs assembled using
RGO counter electrode shows a high short circuit current reaches to a value of 2.843 mA cm
and yields power
conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.52%. An enhancement 46.3% in the fill factor (FF) also was achieved with
RGO as a counter electrode when compared to expensive traditional Pt thin film counter electrode. The unique
electrocatalytic activity of the tailored RGO electrode was discussed in terms of its high electrical conductivity
and large surface area. |
