Platinized Counter Electrodes for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Through the Redox Replacement of a Low Power Electrodeposited Lead Sacrificial Template

摘要

The mass production of photovoltaics, such as dye sensitized solar cells (DSCs), is of great interest to the renewable energy generation industry. DSCs are low cost, photoelectrochemical devices that use sensitized-TiO_2, to generate electricity. Due to the need for an efficient platinum redox catalyst to facilitate electron return to the oxidized dye after electron injection this communication presents a fast, high performing, low cost platinisation process, leading to a viable in-line method of applying catalytic platinum. This method entails a low power deposition of Pb onto FTO-glass followed by the redox replacement of Pb by Pt ions in solution. When applied as a DSC counter electrode, the resulting cells gave efficiencies of 3% compared with standard cells using thermally platinized counter electrodes at 3.9%.