1. Inkjet-printed graphene electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells
- Author
-
Gehan A. J. Amaratunga, Abdulhakeem Bello, Yinghe Zhang, David Dodoo-Arhin, Tawfique Hasan, Pritesh Hiralal, Guohua Hu, and Richard C. T. Howe
- Subjects
chemistry.chemical_classification ,Materials science ,Graphene ,Hibiscus sabdariffa ,Energy conversion efficiency ,Nanotechnology ,02 engineering and technology ,General Chemistry ,Polymer ,010402 general chemistry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,01 natural sciences ,Exfoliation joint ,0104 chemical sciences ,law.invention ,Dye-sensitized solar cell ,chemistry ,Chemical engineering ,law ,General Materials Science ,Graphite ,0210 nano-technology ,Sheet resistance - Abstract
We present a stable inkjet printable graphene ink, formulated in isopropyl alcohol via liquid phase exfoliation of chemically pristine graphite with a polymer stabilizer. The rheology and low deposition temperature of the ink allow uniform printing. We use the graphene ink to fabricate counter electrodes (CE) for natural and ruthenium-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The repeatability of the printing process for the CEs is demonstrated through an array of inkjet-printed graphene electrodes, with ∼5% standard deviation in the sheet resistance. As photosensitizers, we investigate natural tropical dye extracts from Pennisetum glaucum, Hibiscus sabdariffa and Caesalpinia pulcherrima. Among the three natural dyes, we find extracts from C. pulcherrima exhibit the best performance, with ∼0.9% conversion efficiency using a printed graphene CE and a comparable ∼1.1% efficiency using a platinum (Pt) CE. When used with N719 dye, the inkjet-printed graphene CE shows a ∼3.0% conversion efficiency, compared to ∼4.4% obtained using Pt CEs. Our results show that inkjet printable graphene inks, without any chemical functionalization, offers a flexible and scalable fabrication route, with a material cost of only ∼2.7% of the equivalent solution processed Pt-based electrodes.
- Published
- 2016
- Full Text
- View/download PDF