Rapid radiative platinisation for dye-sensitised solar cell counter electrodes.

ABSTRACT The successful transition of dye-sensitised solar cell (DSC) manufacture from laboratory to factory requires new thinking in terms of lowering cost and removing time consuming manufacturing process. Platinisation of the fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass counter electrode is essential for the operation of a conventional DSC and is usually carried out by thermal decomposition of chloroplatinic acid at 385 °C for 30 min. Here, near infrared radiation is used to directly heat the FTO layer resulting in full platinisation in 12.5 s. These platinised electrodes behave identically to those produced via conventional static thermal treatment in assembled DSC devices. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]