Cobalt selenite dihydrate as an effective and stable Pt-free counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells

Cobalt selenite dihydrate (CoSeO3·2H2O) is spin-coated on conductive glass and used as counter electrode (CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Owing to CoSeO3·2H2O electrode good electrocatalytic activity, high conductivity and low resistance, the DSSC based on optimal CoSeO3·2H2O CE provides a power conversion efficiency of 8.90% under one sun irradiation from the front of DSSC, which is superior to the DSSC based on conventional Pt CE. Furthermore, when incorporating trace amounts of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) into CoSeO3·2H2O CE, the DSSC device achieves an improved power conversion efficiency of 9.89%. The research presented here indicates that hydration oxysalt can be used as efficient, stable and free-Pt counter electrode material and shows excellent prospects for application in DSSCs.