Fe3O4-Activated Carbon Composites as a Pt-free Counter Electrode Materials for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell

Authors

  • Yuwadee Prapawasit Student, Master of Engineering, Program in Energy Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Khon Kaen University
  • Phurinat Hemnil Student, Master of Engineering, Program in Energy Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Khon Kaen University
  • Varinrumpai Seithtanabutara Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Khon Kaen University

Keywords:

DSSC, Fe3O4-AC composite, CE

Abstract

Solar energy is a renewable alternative that is favorable to the environment. Due to their lower manufacturing costs than silicon solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have attracted attention. This study aimed to determine the efficiency of DSSC using activated carbon (AC) composite material combined with magnetite (Fe3O4) as the counter electrode (CE). Co-precipitation was used to synthesize magnetite, which was then mixed with AC in a 1:1 weight ratio. The material was characterized using XRD, SEM/EDX, BET, FTIR, and UV-VIS. It has been observed that synthesized magnetite has the ability to absorb both ultraviolet and visible light with a band gap energy of 2.23 eV. Using an activated carbon composite with magnetite composite (Fe3O4-AC) as a CE resulted in a cell efficiency of 2.32%, which was higher than when platinum (Pt) was used, which resulted in only 2.20%. Because it is inexpensive and simple to synthesize, activated carbon composite material with magnetite can serve as a substitute for Pt. It can be further developed to alter the ratio of Fe3O4 to AC to improve DSSC performance.

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Published

2024-07-31

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 2 (2024)

Section

บทความวิจัย

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