Evaluation of Pt-based alloy/graphene nanohybrid electrocatalysts for triiodide reduction in photovoltaics

This work focuses on systematic studies of dissolution engineering for Pt0.9M0.1/graphene (M = Au, Co, Cu, Fe, Mo, Ni, Pd, Ru, and Sn) counter electrodes (CEs). The developed nanohybrid materials exhibit higher catalytic activity and electrical conductivity compared with those of Pt/graphene CEs. The results also indicate the improved stability of the developed CEs in iodide electrolyte. Furthermore, the trend in the variation of the reactivity of the PtM alloys agrees well with the concept of density functional theory (one-electron description). An enhancement in the catalytic activity of the developed nanohybrids results from the electronic effect that originates from an upward shift of the platinum d-band to the Fermi energy level upon alloying. Thus, the Pt0.9M0.1/graphene nanohybrids are cost-effective alternative CE materials to the expensive Pt. The obtained results provide a foundation for enhancing the catalytic activities of CEs for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The implementation of the Pt0.9M0.1/graphene nanohybrids offers significant potential for increasing the efficiency of DSCs.

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