DSSC with a novel Pt counter electrodes using pulsed electroplating techniques

The thin Pt electrode on transparent conductive oxide (TCO) substrate, i.e., FTO/glass, for the dye-sensitized solar cell was prepared by a pulsed electrodeposition method. The characteristic properties of the pulse-plated Pt film were prepared and compared with the conventional sputtered Pt film. The composition and surface morphology of the Pt thin film were examined by scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), atomic force microscope (AFM). The AFM results indicated that the surface roughness of the pulsed plated Pt film is much higher than that of the sputtered Pt film. The catalytic activities of the as-prepared Pt films were examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV). It was found that the catalytic activities of the pulsed plated Pt films were much higher than those of the sputtered Pt film and the DC-plated Pt film. The highest energy conversion efficiency of ca. 6.0% on the DSSC with the pulse-plated Pt electrode was obtained. The result demonstrated that the pulse-plated thin Pt film can be a good candidate for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) application.

► The Pt counter electrode prepared by a pulsed electroplating is more convenient and cheap, as compared with the conventional thermal or sputtering processes.
► The electrochemical properties of the Pt counter electrode by a pulsed electroplating method were more active for I3- reduction.
► This novel preparation method can be scaled up and suitable for mass production, no geometry limitation and lower energy consumption.