Efficient monolithic solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell with a low-cost mesoscopic carbon based screen printable counter electrode

Abstract A low-cost mesoscopic carbon counter electrode (CE) with high surface area is applied in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (ss-DSCs) using spiro-OMeTAD hole transporting material (HTM). The intensity modulated photovoltage spectroscopy (IMVS) measurements are carried out to ascertain the thickness of insulating layer. The influence of mesoscopic carbon CE on the charge transfer process is characterized by the electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) with CE/HTM/CE dummy symmetric cell, which indicates that the mesoscopic structure of CE is helpful to reduce the resistance of the interface between CE and HTM. A high efficiency up to 4.03% is obtained with D102 dye under 1 sun (AM1.5 global, 100 mW cm−2), which is comparable to that of the conventional ss-DSC based on noble CE.

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