Vanadium Doped CoP on a Carbon Paper Composite as a Counter Electrode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

We present facile two-step hydrothermal and chemical vapor deposition approaches for in situ growth of cobalt phosphide and vanadium phosphide (CoP/V2P) on carbon paper (CP). The as-prepared CoP/V2P/CP composite can be used as counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) without any post-treatment. It is found that the CoP/V2P/CP CE exhibits higher electrocatalytic activity than that of the Pt CE and the comforting charge-transfer resistance of 9.53 Omegacm(2) for the reduction of the triiodide electrolyte. Therefore, the DSSC with the CoP/V2P/CP CE generates a higher power conversion efficiency (9.47%) than that of the Pt CE (7.43%) under optimized conditions.

Automated summary

Facile two-step hydrothermal and chemical vapor deposition approaches were developed for in situ growth of cobalt phosphide and vanadium phosphide on carbon paper. The resulting CoP/V2P/CP composite can be directly used as counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells without post-treatment. The CoP/V2P/CP CE exhibited higher electrocatalytic activity and lower charge-transfer resistance than the Pt CE, leading to a higher power conversion efficiency (9.47% vs 7.43%) for the DSSC.