Cobalt iron selenide/sulfide porous nanocubes as high-performance electrocatalysts for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

A novel series of ternary compounds, namely cobalt iron selenide/sulfide nanocubes, are successfully synthesized as counter electrode (CE) materials for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), which deliver excellent performances. Homogeneous cobalt iron Prussian-blue-analog (PBA) nanocubes are prepared as the templates and are subsequently dealt with selenation/sulfidation processes via hydrothermal methods. Owing to their unique morphology, porous structure, high surface area, small charge transfer resistance and high diffusion coefficient, the Co-Fe-Se/S nanocubes possess high catalytic activity and excellent conductivity, which are tested and verified by electrochemical measurements. Meanwhile, cobalt iron selenide/sulfide nanocubes CEs achieve high efficiencies of 9.58% and 9.06%, respectively, which are both higher than that of Pt CE (8.16%). All these prominent merits make them outstanding and promising participants among Pt-free CE materials of DSSCs with lower production costs and higher power conversion efficiency. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.