Facile Synthesis and Characterization of Two Dimensional SnO2-Decorated Graphene Oxide as an Effective Counter Electrode in the DSSC

Abstract

SnO2-decorated graphene oxide (SnO2/GO) was synthesized by the modified Hummers’s method, followed by a chemical incorporation of SnO2 nanoparticles. Then, the nanocomposite was used as anon-precious counter electrode in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Although GO has a relatively poor electrical conductivity depending essentially on the extent of the graphite oxidation, presence of SnO2 enhanced its structural and electrochemical properties. The Pt-free counter electrode exhibited a distinct catalytic activity toward iodine reduction and a low resistance to electron transfer. Moreover, the decorated GO provided extra active sites for reducing I3− at the interface of the CE/electrolyte. In addition, the similarity of the dopant in the GO film and the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate promoted a strong assimilation between them. Therefore, SnO2-decorated GO, as a counter electrode, revealed an enhanced photon to electron conversion efficiency of 4.57%. Consequently, the prepared SnO2/GO can be sorted as an auspicious counter electrode for DSSCs.