Cost-effective bifacial dye-sensitized solar cells with transparent iron selenide counter electrodes. An avenue of enhancing rear-side electricity generation capability

Abstract Alloy materials have established themselves as alternative electrocatalysts for electrochemical devices because of their cost-effectiveness, high conductivity, good electrocatalytic activity, and reasonable stability. Aiming at reducing fabrication cost without sacrificing power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), we report the feasibility of designing transparent and cost-effective Fe–Se alloy counter electrodes for bifacial DSSCs. Due to the rapid charge transfer ability and electrocatalytic activity, maximum front and rear efficiencies of 7.64% and 4.95% are measured for the DSSC with FeSe alloy electrode in comparison with 6.97% and 3.56% from Pt-based solar cell. The impressive results along with simple synthesis highlight the potential application of Fe–Se alloys in robust bifacial DSSCs.