A facile synthesis of bimetallic AuPt nanoparticles as a new transparent counter electrode for quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

This study first reports the synthesis of AuPt bimetallic nanoparticles (AuPt-BNPs) on an FTO glass substrate using dry plasma reduction (DPR) and its application as an alternative transparent counter electrode (CE) for quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs) operated under bi-side illumination. DPR is an economically feasible and ecologically sustainable method. The formation of ultrafine crystalline AuPt-BNPs on an FTO substrate is confirmed through TEM, HRTEM with HAADF-STEM and HAADFSTEM-EDS analyses. The mechanism for controlling the size, mono-dispersity, and areal number density of nanoparticles on the substrate surface is suggested. The CE fabricated with AuPt-BNPs exhibits a high electro-catalytic activity without losing the optical transmittance of the FTO substrate. The QDSC employing the AuPt-BNP electrode reaches efficiencies of 2.4% under front-side illumination and 2.2% under back-side illumination. Bi-side illumination yields an efficiency of 3.4%, which is comparable to an efficiency of 3.7% obtained for the QDSC with the state-of-the-art CE. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.