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Synthesis of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide as counter electrode material for dye-sensitized solar cells

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Abstract

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are the most promising photovoltaic technology compared to other third-generation solar cells in terms of stability and cost-effectiveness. DSSCs involve the use of platinum-modified conductive glass substrate such as fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) as counter electrode material. Thus, to further reduce the cost of DSSCs, it is required to develop the Pt-free materials and use them as cost-effective counter electrode material for DSSC applications. In the present work, we have fabricated a nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-rGO)-coated FTO glass substrates and employed it as counter electrode for DSSCs. The N-rGO/FTO counter electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity to catalyze the redox reaction. The N-rGO/FTO counter electrode-based DSSCs showed good efficiency of 6.7%. This shows that N-rGO/FTO may be a potential candidate for its use as counter electrode for the construction of DSSCs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend their thanks to the Researchers Supporting Project (ref: RSPD2023R670), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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  1. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Fahad A. Alharthi & Imran Hasan

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  1. Fahad A. Alharthi
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Correspondence to Imran Hasan.

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Alharthi, F.A., Hasan, I. Synthesis of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide as counter electrode material for dye-sensitized solar cells. J Solid State Electrochem 27, 3505–3512 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-023-05639-y

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