Fabrication of working and counter electrodes on plastic substrates for flexible dye-sensitized solar cells

This paper presents the fabrication technologies related to flexible titanium-dioxide (TiO2) working electrodes and graphite counter electrodes on plastic substrates for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The DSSC on a plastic substrate had a sandwich structure consisting of a TiO2 working electrode, an electrolyte, and a graphite counter electrode. Nano-crystalline TiO2 powder, titanium (IV) bis (ammonium lactato) dihydroxide (TALH), de-ionized water (DI water), and Triton X-100 were added to the mixture of PDMS base and curing agents to form TiO2 colloids for the TiO2 working electrode. The material analysis of the TiO2 working electrode and the graphite counter electrode employed field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Nano-crystalline TiO2 powder was used to form the TiO2 working electrode. The surface characteristics of the TiO2 and graphite films were investigated herein. The low-cost fabrication technologies of the TiO2 working electrode and graphite counter electrode on the plastic substrate were clearly demonstrated.