High-efficiency fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cells with cost-effective ZnCo2O4/Carbon fiber counter electrodes for low-light environments

IF 4.2 3区工程技术 Q2 ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC

Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing Pub Date : 2025-03-04 DOI:10.1016/j.mssp.2025.109432

Saleh Saad Yousef Hayek , Normurot Fayzullaev , Mohammed Asiri , Prakash Kanjariya , Rekha M. M , Piyus Kumar Pathak , Tushar Aggarwal , Mayada Ahmed Abass , Mohammed Yaqob

{"title":"High-efficiency fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cells with cost-effective ZnCo2O4/Carbon fiber counter electrodes for low-light environments","authors":"Saleh Saad Yousef Hayek , Normurot Fayzullaev , Mohammed Asiri , Prakash Kanjariya , Rekha M. M , Piyus Kumar Pathak , Tushar Aggarwal , Mayada Ahmed Abass , Mohammed Yaqob","doi":"10.1016/j.mssp.2025.109432","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cells (FDSSCs) represent a promising frontier in solar energy due to their unique flexibility, lightweight form, and adaptability for wearable electronics and integrated textile-based applications. In this study, we aim to enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of FDSSCs by developing a platinum-free counter electrode that maintains high performance under various light conditions. We utilized the hydrothermal method to grow ZnCo<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> (ZCO) nanostructures on carbon fibers (CF), forming a composite (CF/ZCO) counter electrode as a sustainable alternative to platinum, traditionally used but costly and prone to stability issues. Our FDSSCs with CF/ZCO counter electrodes achieved an efficiency of 8.3 %, demonstrating an 8 % improvement over conventional platinum electrodes. Importantly, these cells retained excellent performance under low-light conditions, achieving more than 9 % efficiency, making them highly suitable for indoor and wearable applications. The high electrocatalytic activity of the CF/ZCO counter electrode was confirmed through electrochemical analyses (EIS, CV, and Tafel polarization), indicating superior charge transport properties over Pt. Structural and morphological characterizations (XRD, Raman, FESEM, HRTEM, and EDS) confirmed the uniformity and quality of the CF/ZCO nanostructures. By replacing platinum with low-cost, non-toxic ZCO, this study contributes to the advancement of sustainable, flexible solar technologies, paving the way for FDSSCs to power next-generation wearable and integrated devices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18240,"journal":{"name":"Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing","volume":"192 ","pages":"Article 109432"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369800125001696","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cells (FDSSCs) represent a promising frontier in solar energy due to their unique flexibility, lightweight form, and adaptability for wearable electronics and integrated textile-based applications. In this study, we aim to enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of FDSSCs by developing a platinum-free counter electrode that maintains high performance under various light conditions. We utilized the hydrothermal method to grow ZnCo₂O₄ (ZCO) nanostructures on carbon fibers (CF), forming a composite (CF/ZCO) counter electrode as a sustainable alternative to platinum, traditionally used but costly and prone to stability issues. Our FDSSCs with CF/ZCO counter electrodes achieved an efficiency of 8.3 %, demonstrating an 8 % improvement over conventional platinum electrodes. Importantly, these cells retained excellent performance under low-light conditions, achieving more than 9 % efficiency, making them highly suitable for indoor and wearable applications. The high electrocatalytic activity of the CF/ZCO counter electrode was confirmed through electrochemical analyses (EIS, CV, and Tafel polarization), indicating superior charge transport properties over Pt. Structural and morphological characterizations (XRD, Raman, FESEM, HRTEM, and EDS) confirmed the uniformity and quality of the CF/ZCO nanostructures. By replacing platinum with low-cost, non-toxic ZCO, this study contributes to the advancement of sustainable, flexible solar technologies, paving the way for FDSSCs to power next-generation wearable and integrated devices.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

8.00

自引率

4.90%

发文量

780

审稿时长

42 days

期刊介绍： Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing provides a unique forum for the discussion of novel processing, applications and theoretical studies of functional materials and devices for (opto)electronics, sensors, detectors, biotechnology and green energy. Each issue will aim to provide a snapshot of current insights, new achievements, breakthroughs and future trends in such diverse fields as microelectronics, energy conversion and storage, communications, biotechnology, (photo)catalysis, nano- and thin-film technology, hybrid and composite materials, chemical processing, vapor-phase deposition, device fabrication, and modelling, which are the backbone of advanced semiconductor processing and applications. Coverage will include: advanced lithography for submicron devices; etching and related topics; ion implantation; damage evolution and related issues; plasma and thermal CVD; rapid thermal processing; advanced metallization and interconnect schemes; thin dielectric layers, oxidation; sol-gel processing; chemical bath and (electro)chemical deposition; compound semiconductor processing; new non-oxide materials and their applications; (macro)molecular and hybrid materials; molecular dynamics, ab-initio methods, Monte Carlo, etc.; new materials and processes for discrete and integrated circuits; magnetic materials and spintronics; heterostructures and quantum devices; engineering of the electrical and optical properties of semiconductors; crystal growth mechanisms; reliability, defect density, intrinsic impurities and defects.