Atmospheric plasma reaction synthesised PtxFe1−x/graphene and TiO2 nanoparticles/graphene for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

We report a facile atmospheric plasma reaction synthesis of Pt_xFe_1−x alloys with the different Pt/Fe stoichiometric ratio in Pt_xFe_1−x alloys on graphene (G) as efficient counter electrode (CE) materials and atmospheric plasma reaction synthesised TiO₂ nanoparticles/G as photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Well-distributed Pt_xFe_1−x nanoparticles or TiO₂ nanoparticles on the G surface were obtained. Remarkably, DSSCs prepared by the Pt_0.7Fe_0.3/G CE have much higher catalytic activity and stable durability than Pt₁Fe₀/G CE. The as-synthesized Pt_0.7Fe_0.3/G CE exhibits the largest value of |J_red| = 1.479 mA and the lowest value of R_ct = 2.86 Ω. With the Pt_0.7Fe_0.3/G as CE and TiO₂/G as the photoanode, the DSSC can deliver an overall power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.13%, which is significantly higher than the 9.72% of the expensive Pt₁Fe₀/G counterpart. The obtained results indicate that the Pt_xFe_1−x/G nanohybrids fabricated using atmospheric plasma reaction exhibited potential as a reference for next generation CE materials in highly efficient DSSCs. We believe that this work provides an effective strategy for optimizing Pt utilization for the low-cost and efficient application of DSSCs.