Cu2ZnSnS4, a fascinating counter electrode for TiO2-free dye-sensitized solar cells

Roy, Anurag; Sundaram, Senthilarasu; Mallick, Tapas K.

Abstract

Since innovation, different dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have endeavored with additional components to escalate the efficiency, cost-effectiveness and long-term stability. Various approaches have been executed to reduce the amount of costly platinum (Pt) used in DSSCs and/or to explore cheaper alternatives to Pt. In this work, cheaper elements based quaternary chalcogenide alloy; Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) has been projected as a prominent counter electrode (CE) candidate to Pt in DSSCs. The CZTS thin film has been developed by an in-situ synthesis employing a hydrothermal technique and further evaluating various physicochemical characterization. Our results manifest that using the CZTS CE, a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.3 % was exhibited for TiO2 based photoanode. The highest PCE of 6.5 % was achieved for BaSnO3 based photoanode, a promising alternative oxide to TiO2 photoanode. This work further signifies a unique combination of newly developed BaSnO3(BSO)-CZTS DSSCs, could be a promising competitor to TiO2-Pt DSSCs.

Citation

Roy, A., Sundaram, S., & Mallick, T. K. (2021). Cu2ZnSnS4, a fascinating counter electrode for TiO2-free dye-sensitized solar cells. ChemistrySelect, 6(7), 1541-1547. https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.202004644

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 1, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Feb 15, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-02
• Deposit Date: Mar 12, 2023
• Journal: ChemistrySelect
• Print ISSN: 2365-6549
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 1541-1547
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.202004644
• Keywords: Alloys, Counter Electrode, Dye-sensitized Solar Cell, Materials Science, Platinum Free