Polymer Counter Electrode in Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted interest as clean electrical energydue to their low cost and environmentally friendly. In classical dye-sensitizedsolar cells, platinum metal is applied as a counter electrode, but due to its high cost andplatinum susceptibility towards corrosion, the development and large-scale productionof dye-sensitized solar cells have been disputed. To resolve this problem, polymers canbe taken as a replacement for platinum due to their affordability, synthetic simplicityand easy usage. The conjugated polymers suitable for use in the counter electrode are:polypyrrole (PPy), polyaniline (PANI), poly(3,4-propylenedioxythiophene) (PProDOT),poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-polystyreneslufonate(PEDOT-PSS) copolymer. By referring to its high electricalconductivity, stability and nanoporous structure, PEDOT, is very suitable for use in solarcells as the counter electrode. The performance of the polymer counter electrode in adye-sensitized solar cells are determined by various factors: catalytic activity, electronicconductivity, surface area, matching, electrochemical stability, surface morphology, surfaceroughness, thickness, porosity, adhesion, particle size, and crystal structure. The purpose ofthis article is to introduce and delineate the kind of polymer to employ as counter electrodein dye-sensitized solar cells and the parameters affecting the performance of polymercounter electrode. Finally, some brief accounts on the performances and outlook for thepolymer counter electrode are presented.