Low platinum loading PtNPs/graphene composite catalyst with high electrocatalytic activity for dye-sensitized solar cells

Platinum nanoparticles(PtNPs)/graphene composite materials are synthesized by a controlled chemical reduction of H2PtCl6 on graphene sheets.The electrocatalytic activity of a PtNPs/graphene composite counter electrode for a dye-sensitized solar cell(DSSC) is investigated.The results demonstrate that the PtNPs/graphene composite has high electrocatalytic activity for the dye-sensitized solar cell.The cell employing PtNPs(1.6 wt%)/graphene counter electrode reaches an conversion efficiency(η)of 3.89% upon the excitation of 100 mW/cm2 AM 1.5 white light,which is comparable to that of the cell with a Pt-film counter electrode(η=3.76%).It suggests that one can use only 14% Pt content of the conventional Pt-film counter electrode to obtain a comparable conversion efficiency.It may be possible to obtain a high performance DSSC using the PtNPs/graphene composite with a very low Pt content as a counter electrode due to its simplicity,low cost,and large scalability.