Pt Nanourchins as Efficient and Robust Counter Electrode Materials for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

This study reports on the synthesis of Pt nanourchins (PtNUs) on FTO glass surfaces and their application as an efficient and robust counter electrode (CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). PtNUs with sizes in the range of 100-300 nm are successfully synthesized on FTO surfaces via a simple room temperature chemical reduction of H2PtCl6 using formic acid. Note that the PtNUs have numerous Pt nanowires with 2 nm diameters and 12 nm lengths. The PtNU CE exhibits very low charge-transfer resistance for DSCs. The efficiency of DSCs fabricated with PtNU CEs is 9.39%, which is higher than that of devices assembled with Pt-sputtered CEs (8.51%).