TY - JOUR
T1 - Properties of a counter electrode with cobalt silicides in a dye sensitized solar cell
AU - Noh, Yunyoung
AU - Kim, Kwangbae
AU - Song, Ohsung
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © The Korean Institute of Metals and Materials.
PY - 2017/1
Y1 - 2017/1
N2 - Cobalt silicide was used as a counter electrode to replace the Pt catalytic layer of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) device. 100 nm Si/ 100 nm Co on quartz was formed by sputtering and cobalt-silicides were formed by vacuum heat treatment at 500°C and 700°C for 30 min, respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to analyze the surface microstructure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) depth profiling analysis were used to confirm the phases. Also, cyclic-voltammetry (CV) analysis was employed to confirm the catalytic activity and photovoltaic properties were confirmed using a simulator and potentiostat. The microstructure analysis indicated that the 500°C and 700°C silicidation led to a uniform planar layer and island-like agglomerates, respectively. In the XRD and AES results, those phases were structures of quartz/CoSi/Co and quartz/dot-(CoSi2/Co). CV analysis showed that Si/Co and CoSi/Co exhibited catalytic activity, while dot-(CoSi2/Co) did not show catalytic activity due to the isolated dot structure. The energy conversion efficiencies of DSSCs with CoSi/Co and dot-(CoSi2/Co) were 3.75% and 0%, respectively, while that of Pt employed DSSC was 5.13%. Our result implies that using the nano-thick CoSi as a reduction catalytic layer may be an effective replacement for Pt.
AB - Cobalt silicide was used as a counter electrode to replace the Pt catalytic layer of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) device. 100 nm Si/ 100 nm Co on quartz was formed by sputtering and cobalt-silicides were formed by vacuum heat treatment at 500°C and 700°C for 30 min, respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to analyze the surface microstructure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) depth profiling analysis were used to confirm the phases. Also, cyclic-voltammetry (CV) analysis was employed to confirm the catalytic activity and photovoltaic properties were confirmed using a simulator and potentiostat. The microstructure analysis indicated that the 500°C and 700°C silicidation led to a uniform planar layer and island-like agglomerates, respectively. In the XRD and AES results, those phases were structures of quartz/CoSi/Co and quartz/dot-(CoSi2/Co). CV analysis showed that Si/Co and CoSi/Co exhibited catalytic activity, while dot-(CoSi2/Co) did not show catalytic activity due to the isolated dot structure. The energy conversion efficiencies of DSSCs with CoSi/Co and dot-(CoSi2/Co) were 3.75% and 0%, respectively, while that of Pt employed DSSC was 5.13%. Our result implies that using the nano-thick CoSi as a reduction catalytic layer may be an effective replacement for Pt.
KW - Annealing
KW - Auger electron spectroscopy
KW - Catalytic activity
KW - Phase transformation
KW - Solar cells
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85014244154&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3365/KJMM.2017.55.1.39
DO - 10.3365/KJMM.2017.55.1.39
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85014244154
SN - 1738-8228
VL - 55
SP - 39
EP - 45
JO - Journal of Korean Institute of Metals and Materials
JF - Journal of Korean Institute of Metals and Materials
IS - 1
ER -