Graphene application as a counter electrode material for dye-sensitized solar cell

A well dispersed thin film of graphene on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate was obtained by introducing polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a wrapping agent for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Wrapping of graphene by PVP was confirmed by the formation of ester bonds (–C–O–OC–), resulting in a highly packed uniform graphene thin film on FTO. The DSSCs fabricated with graphene–PVP counter electrode demonstrated a reasonably high overall conversion efficiency of 3.01% with high short current density (JSC) of 11.16 mA/cm², open circuit voltage (VOC) of 0.726 V and fill factor of 0.37. This might result from the low charge transfer resistance and high redox current density due to the high electrocatalytic activity.

► Well dispersed and uniform thin film of graphene on FTO glass are obtained by introducing polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP).
► Prepared graphene thin film electrode is applied as a counter electrode (CE) for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).
► DSSC fabricated with graphene–PVP CE shows a reasonably high overall conversion efficiency of 3.01%.
► Low charge transfer resistance and high redox current density are attributed to the high electrocatalytic activity of graphene CE.