Facile and functional synthesis of Ni0.85Se/Carbon nanospheres with hollow structure as counter electrodes of DSSCs

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), which can make efficient use of solar energy, have attracted extensive attention worldwide. Counter electrodes (CEs) of DSSCs play an essential role in controlling Gamma(3) reduction, thus determining electrocatalytic activity. Accordingly, a facile solvothermal approach was utilized to synthesize Ni0.85Se nanospheres with the existence of glucose as carbon source (Ni0.85Se/C), serving as CEs. Compared with the unsupported Ni0.85Se, the Ni0.85Se/C nanospheres exhibited superior electrochemical properties owing to the addition of carbon from glucose and existence of hollow as well as mesoporous structures, even outperforming those of the precious platinum electrode. The overall power conversion efficiency of the DSSC with the Ni0.85Se/C CE attained 9.39%, exceeding that with the Ni0.85Se (8.47%) and platinum CEs (8.77%).

Automated summary

Ni0.85Se/C nanospheres synthesized using glucose as a carbon source demonstrate superior electrochemical properties as counter electrodes in DSSCs, outperforming even the precious platinum electrode and improving the overall power conversion efficiency of the solar cells.