Recent Advances in Counter Electrodes for Thiolate-mediated Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on disulfide/thiolate (T-2/T-) redox couples have attracted remarkable attention due to their high efficiency and low cost. As an indispensible part of DSSCs, counter electrode (CE) design plays a crucial role in high efficiency DSSCs. This mini-review paper selectively reviews the recent advances in T-mediated DSSCs using novel CE (namely cathode) materials, mainly including noble metal platinum (Pt), carbon materials, transition metal compounds (TMCs), polymers, and hybrids, thus highlighting the merits and demerits of alternative Pt catalysts, and the prospects and challenges of Pt-free CEs for the development of high-performance and low-cost DSSCs.