Synthesis and Performance Analysis of a Carbon-Doped Titania (C–TiO2) Counter Electrode (CE) for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs).

In this study, we fabricated an efficient and low-cost carbon-doped titania (C–TiO₂) counter electrode (CE) as a substitute for platinum (Pt) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). By varying different weight ratios, C–TiO₂ samples were synthesized through the hydrothermal synthesis method followed by calcination in a tube furnace. The doctor blade coating method was used to deposit thin films of the synthesized samples onto the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates. Structural and morphological properties were studied by using various analytical techniques. Moreover, the electrochemical and photo-conversion characteristics of the fabricated CEs were investigated. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) results of the fabricated CEs showed electrocatalytic activity comparable to the Pt in the DSSCs. Meanwhile, photovoltaic measurement results showed the best-performing 15% C–TiO₂ CE having 1.56% power conversion efficiency (PCE) as compared to Pt, which is 2.12%. This study proposed a simple method to fabricate a low-cost and efficient C–TiO₂ CE for DSSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]