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Controllable synthesize core-shelled Zn0.76Co0.24S nanospheres as the counter-electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells and its enhanced electrocatalytic performance

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Abstract

The core-shelled structure nanomaterial is a potential kind of progressive catalysts for the transformation of energy due to their superior catalytic properties, large specific surface, and expedited velocity of electron transport. Meanwhile, the transition metal chalcogenides with complex nanostructures have been considered potential substitutes for highly active and scarce noble metal because of the remarkable electrical and photic catalytic activity. In this study, the Zn0.76Co0.24S nanospheres with different nanostructures were obtained by varying the solvothermal treatment durations. The measurement results exhibited that the as-prepared Zn0.76Co0.24S nanospheres possessed a large surface area (135.7 m2 g−1), better average pore size distribution (9.2 nm), and the excellent conductivity (Rct = 0.24 Ω). Specifically, the photocurrent density versus voltage (J–V) curves demonstrated that a 7.42% power conversion efficiency (PCE) was achieved for the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) employing Zn0.76Co0.24S as the counter-electrode under a simulated solar light, which is evidently superior to the value of Pt (7.07% PCE) and the value of ZnCo2O4 (4.60% PCE).

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the financial support for this work from the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFA0403503), National Natural Science Foundation of China (11674001), Key Natural Science Research Program of Anhui Educational Committee (KJ2018ZD001, KJ2013A030).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physics and Materials Science, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China

    Qiaoyu Cui, Qun Yang, Wen Wang, Jixin Yao, Zhongfei Liu, Xueqing Zuo, Kerong Zhu, Guang Li & Shaowei Jin

  2. Anhui Key Laboratory of Information Materials and Devices, Hefei, 230601, China

    Guang Li & Shaowei Jin

  3. Institute of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China

    Guang Li

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  1. Qiaoyu Cui
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Cui, Q., Yang, Q., Wang, W. et al. Controllable synthesize core-shelled Zn0.76Co0.24S nanospheres as the counter-electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells and its enhanced electrocatalytic performance. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 31, 1797–1807 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-019-02696-w

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