Carbon nanofibers combined with Pt nanoparticles for use as counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) combined with different amounts of Pt nanoparticles (CNF/Pt nanocomposites) were syntheiszed by a combination of electrospinning and precipitation methods. Their structural and morphological properties were investiaged by means of scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated with CNF/Pt nanocomposites (with 40 wt% Pt nanoparticles) exhibit a much better short-circuit current density (13.54mA/cm2), fill-factor (49.81%), and photoconversion efficiency (4.47%) than do those with CNF only and CNF/Pt nanocomposites (with 20 wt% Pt nanoparticles). It is also shown that dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated with CNF/Pt nanocomposites (with 40 wt% Pt nanoparticles) show almost the same cell efficiency as that of DSSCs with a commercial pure Pt-sol sample.