A novel carbon-based nanocomposite plate as a counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

This study develops cost effective and high performance composite conductive plates for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Composite plates with various graphite contents at a constant carbon nanotube (CNT) loading were prepared by bulk molding compound (BMC) process. Results show that the bulk electrical resistance of the composite plate gradually decreases from 6.7 mΩ cm to 1.7 mΩ cm as the graphite content increases, which is due to the formation of efficient electronic conducting networks. For DSSCs, the composite plates may be suitable substitutes for the conductive glass plates in the counter electrodes substrates of DSSCs. Results reveal that composite plates at the optimum level (80 wt.% graphite loading) provide lower cell resistance, lower preparation cost and higher cell performance than common conductive glass plates. Therefore, in order to decrease the cost of the cells and to maintain good cell performance, this graphite-like composite plate prepared by the BMC process is a promising substitute component for DSSCs.