Gram-Scale Synthesis of Catalytic Co₉S₈ Nanocrystal Ink as a Cathode Material for Spray-Deposited, Large-Area Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

We report the development of Co₉S₈ nanocrystals as a cost-effective cathode material that can be readily combined with spraying techniques to fabricate large-area dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) devices and can be further connected with series or parallel cell architectures to obtain a relatively high output voltage or current. A gram-scale synthesis of Co₉S₈ nanocrystal is carried out <i>via</i> a noninjection reaction by mixing anhydrous CoCl₂ with trioctylphosphine (TOP), dodecanethiol and oleylamine (OLA) at 250 °C. The Co₉S₈ nanocrystals possess excellent catalytic ability with respect to I^–/I₃^– redox reactions. The Co₉S₈ nanocrystals are prepared as nanoinks to fabricate uniform, crack-free Co₉S₈ thin films on different substrates by using a spray deposition technique. These Co₉S₈ films are used as counter electrodes assembled with dye-adsorbed TiO₂ photoanodes to fabricate DSSC devices having a working area of 2 cm² and an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.02 ± 0.18% under AM 1.5 solar illumination, which is comparable with the PCE of 7.2 ± 0.12% obtained using a Pt cathode. Furthermore, six 2 cm²-sized DSSC devices connected in series output an open-circuit voltage of 4.2 V that can power a wide range of electronic devices such as LED arrays and can charge commercial lithium ion batteries

Gram-Scale Synthesis of Catalytic Co₉S₈ Nanocrystal Ink as a Cathode Material for Spray-Deposited, Large-Area Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

We report the development of Co₉S₈ nanocrystals as a cost-effective cathode material that can be readily combined with spraying techniques to fabricate large-area dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) devices and can be further connected with series or parallel cell architectures to obtain a relatively high output voltage or current. A gram-scale synthesis of Co₉S₈ nanocrystal is carried out <i>via</i> a noninjection reaction by mixing anhydrous CoCl₂ with trioctylphosphine (TOP), dodecanethiol and oleylamine (OLA) at 250 °C. The Co₉S₈ nanocrystals possess excellent catalytic ability with respect to I^–/I₃^– redox reactions. The Co₉S₈ nanocrystals are prepared as nanoinks to fabricate uniform, crack-free Co₉S₈ thin films on different substrates by using a spray deposition technique. These Co₉S₈ films are used as counter electrodes assembled with dye-adsorbed TiO₂ photoanodes to fabricate DSSC devices having a working area of 2 cm² and an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.02 ± 0.18% under AM 1.5 solar illumination, which is comparable with the PCE of 7.2 ± 0.12% obtained using a Pt cathode. Furthermore, six 2 cm²-sized DSSC devices connected in series output an open-circuit voltage of 4.2 V that can power a wide range of electronic devices such as LED arrays and can charge commercial lithium ion batteries

One-Pot Electrodeposition of Compact Layer and Mesoporous Scaffold for Perovskite Solar Cells

In this study, we report a facile method to sequentially electrodeposit a TiO₂ compact layer and a mesoporous scaffold from a single solution. This bilayer TiO₂ structure offers good controllability on the thickness and morphology by simply adjusting the depositing parameters. Currently, perovskite solar cell containing an electrodeposited TiO₂ bilayer exhibits similar power conversion efficiency when compared with the one using double spin-coating techniques, showing great potential to replace conventional tedious TiO₂ film fabrication

Gram-Scale Synthesis of Catalytic Co₉S₈ Nanocrystal Ink as a Cathode Material for Spray-Deposited, Large-Area Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

We report the development of Co₉S₈ nanocrystals as a cost-effective cathode material that can be readily combined with spraying techniques to fabricate large-area dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) devices and can be further connected with series or parallel cell architectures to obtain a relatively high output voltage or current. A gram-scale synthesis of Co₉S₈ nanocrystal is carried out <i>via</i> a noninjection reaction by mixing anhydrous CoCl₂ with trioctylphosphine (TOP), dodecanethiol and oleylamine (OLA) at 250 °C. The Co₉S₈ nanocrystals possess excellent catalytic ability with respect to I^–/I₃^– redox reactions. The Co₉S₈ nanocrystals are prepared as nanoinks to fabricate uniform, crack-free Co₉S₈ thin films on different substrates by using a spray deposition technique. These Co₉S₈ films are used as counter electrodes assembled with dye-adsorbed TiO₂ photoanodes to fabricate DSSC devices having a working area of 2 cm² and an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.02 ± 0.18% under AM 1.5 solar illumination, which is comparable with the PCE of 7.2 ± 0.12% obtained using a Pt cathode. Furthermore, six 2 cm²-sized DSSC devices connected in series output an open-circuit voltage of 4.2 V that can power a wide range of electronic devices such as LED arrays and can charge commercial lithium ion batteries

Gram-Scale Synthesis of Catalytic Co₉S₈ Nanocrystal Ink as a Cathode Material for Spray-Deposited, Large-Area Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

We report the development of Co₉S₈ nanocrystals as a cost-effective cathode material that can be readily combined with spraying techniques to fabricate large-area dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) devices and can be further connected with series or parallel cell architectures to obtain a relatively high output voltage or current. A gram-scale synthesis of Co₉S₈ nanocrystal is carried out <i>via</i> a noninjection reaction by mixing anhydrous CoCl₂ with trioctylphosphine (TOP), dodecanethiol and oleylamine (OLA) at 250 °C. The Co₉S₈ nanocrystals possess excellent catalytic ability with respect to I^–/I₃^– redox reactions. The Co₉S₈ nanocrystals are prepared as nanoinks to fabricate uniform, crack-free Co₉S₈ thin films on different substrates by using a spray deposition technique. These Co₉S₈ films are used as counter electrodes assembled with dye-adsorbed TiO₂ photoanodes to fabricate DSSC devices having a working area of 2 cm² and an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.02 ± 0.18% under AM 1.5 solar illumination, which is comparable with the PCE of 7.2 ± 0.12% obtained using a Pt cathode. Furthermore, six 2 cm²-sized DSSC devices connected in series output an open-circuit voltage of 4.2 V that can power a wide range of electronic devices such as LED arrays and can charge commercial lithium ion batteries

Performance Characterization of Dye-Sensitized Photovoltaics under Indoor Lighting

Indoor utilization of emerging photovoltaics is promising; however, efficiency characterization under room lighting is challenging. We report the first round-robin interlaboratory study of performance measurement for dye-sensitized photovoltaics (cells and mini-modules) and one silicon solar cell under a fluorescent dim light. Among 15 research groups, the relative deviation in power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the samples reaches an unprecedented 152%. On the basis of the comprehensive results, the gap between photometry and radiometry measurements and the response of devices to the dim illumination are identified as critical obstacles to the correct PCE. Therefore, we use an illuminometer as a prime standard with a spectroradiometer to quantify the intensity of indoor lighting and adopt the reverse-biased current–voltage (<i>I</i>–<i>V</i>) characteristics as an indicator to qualify the <i>I</i>–<i>V</i> sampling time for dye-sensitized photovoltaics. The recommendations can brighten the prospects of emerging photovoltaics for indoor applications