Research Output
The study and preparation of polyaniline-graphene oxide as robust counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells
Graphene-modified TiO2as photoanode using agarose gel electrolyte for dye-sensitized solar cell
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Publication
The study of alternative materials and platinum-free counter electrodes (CE) for the development of dye- sensitized solar cells (DSSC) has been highlighted nowadays. Polyaniline (PANI) is one of the most common conducting polymers applied in electrochemical energy storage and conversion technologies such as supercapacitors, rechargeable batteries and fuel cells. However, PANI counter electrodes lack long-term stability due to their low surface area and large volume changes during the release of ions. In that regard, this research work focused on the modification of protonated PANI with graphene oxide (GO) at various weight percentages (wt%) in order to obtain robust CE in DSSC. The structure and formation of PANI, GO and PANI/GO were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The absorption spectra showed all the characteristic bands of GO, PANI(ES) and PANI/GO. Meanwhile, the incorporation of GO into PANI has enhanced the crystallinity of the composite. As a result, power conversion efficiency (PCE%) of the device with PANI/GO 3 wt% as the counter electrode reaches 6.39%. The excellent photoelectric properties, simple preparation procedure and inexpensive cost allow the PANI/GO electrode to be a credible alternative for DSSCs.
Publication
A newly developed biopolymer agarose gel electrolyte along with titanium dioxide-graphene (TiO2-G) as a photoanode in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) was prepared and investigated towards green approaches and electrolyte stability. To develop a biopolymer electrolyte, potassium iodide was added to the agarose biopolymer matrix to produce a gel electrolyte system. As for the photoanode, TiO2 with different graphene concentrations was prepared. It was recorded that the bandgap was reduced from 3.0 eV to 2.50 eV with the increasing graphene concentration. The formation of agarose gel electrolyte and TiO2-Graphene photoanode were determined by the FTIR analysis. Meanwhile, XRD analysis was conducted to identify the crystallinity of agarose gel electrolyte and TiO2-G affecting the performance of the cell. The XRD spectra measured in a range of 2θ from 5° to 80° showed a diffraction peak at 2θ = 22°, 25.5° and 36° for agarose gel electrolyte and 2θ = 24.88° for TiO2-Graphene. The results illustrated that the TiO2-G combination improves the crystallinity and thus exhibits higher surface area and mesoporous structure for better electrical conductivity and simultaneously strikes the performance stability of DSSC.