Synthesis of Ternary Ni/Mo2C/Carbon Nanofibers as Low-cost Counter Electrode for Efficient Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

To reduce the cost of manufacture, it is urgent to develop efficient and stable platinum(Pt)-free counter electrode(CEs) electrocatalysts for dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs). In this study, a simple electrospinning and carbonization strategy has been developed to synthesize carbon nanofibers(CNFs) loaded with Ni and Mo₂C nanoparticles(Ni/Mo₂C/CNFs) as CE. Owing to the high electrical conductivity of CNFs and the large catalytic activity of Ni and Mo₂C, an excellent electrochemical performance of Ni/Mo₂C/CNFs as CE is achieved. The optimized DSSC assembled with Ni/Mo₂C(2:1)/CNFs-based CE exhibits a power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 8.90%, which exceeds the corresponding values of the device using the Pt(8.07%), Ni/Mo₂C(1:1)/CNFs(8.68%), Ni/Mo₂C(1:2)/CNFs(8.20%), Ni/CNFs(7.50%) and Mo₂C/CNFs(6.10%). This work provides a new strategy for developing effective and low-cost CE materials in DSSCs.