Enhanced charge transportation in a polypyrrole counter electrode via incorporation of reduced graphene oxide sheets for dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

In this work, reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets are successfully introduced into the conductive polypyrrole (PPy) matrix as conductive channels and co-catalyst, through simple incorporation of graphene oxide (GO) into PPy and subsequent in situ reduction from GO/PPy to RGO/PPy composite film. The RGO/PPy film is fabricated as a counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells, and it exhibits excellent catalytic performance for reduction of triiodide. For this reason, the incorporated RGO sheets significantly improve short-circuit photocurrent density from 14.27 to 15.81 mA cm⁻² and power conversion efficiency from 7.11% to 8.14%, which is comparable with that for the cell based on a Pt cathode.