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Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Electrospinning of Photocatalytic Electrodes for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells
Published on: June 28, 2017
Large area growth of MoTe2 films as high performance counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells
Sajjad Hussain1,2, Supriya A Patil3,4, Dhanasekaran Vikraman5
1Graphene Research Institute, Sejong University, Seoul, 143-747, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
A cost effective and efficient alternative counter electrode (CE) to replace commercially existing platinum (Pt)-based CEs for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is necessary to make DSSCs competitive. Herein, we report the large-area growth of molybdenum telluride (MoTe2) thin films by sputtering-chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on conductive glass substrates for Pt-free CEs of DSSCs. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), Tafel curve analysis, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results showed that the as-synthesized MoTe2 exhibited good electrocatalytic properties and a low charge transfer resistance at the electrolyte-electrode interface. The optimized MoTe2 CE revealed a high power conversion efficiency of 7.25% under a simulated solar illumination of 100 mW cm-2 (AM 1.5), which was comparable to the 8.15% observed for a DSSC with a Pt CE. The low cost and good electrocatalytic properties of MoTe2 thin films make them as an alternative CE for DSSCs.
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