Bifacial dye-sensitized solar cells from covalent-bonded polyaniline-multiwalled carbon nanotube complex counter electrodes

Exploration of cost-effective counter electrodes (CEs) and enhancement of power conversion efficiency have been two persistent objectives for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In the current work, polyaniline multiwalled carbon nanotube (PANi-MWCNT) complexes are synthesized by a reflux method and employed as CE materials for bifacial DSSCs. Owing to the high optical transparency of PANi-MWCNT complex CE, the incident light from rear side can compensate for the incident light from TiO2 anode. The charge-transfer ability and electrochemical behaviors demonstrate the potential utilization of PANi-MWCNT complex CEs in robust bifacial DSSCs. The electrochemical properties as well as photovoltaic performances are optimized by adjusting MWCNT dosages. A maximum power conversion efficiency of 9.24% is recorded from the bifacial DSSC employing PANi-8 wt% MWCNT complex CE for both irradiation, which is better than 8.08% from pure PANi CE. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.