Low-cost bendable photoanodes and counter electrodes (CEs), as well as gel electrolytes, are potentially desired for the mass production of completely flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In this work, via printing at low temperature, we fabricated titanium carbide (TiC)-functionalized conductive-carbon (CC) on flexible polyimide (PI) films to replace traditional and expensive Pt/ITO/PEN CEs. Morphology characterization revealed this composite CE was highly porous and homogeneous. Electrochemical investigations demonstrated that this Pt-and-ITO free flexible CE exhibited a high electro-catalytic activity. Finally, the conversion efficiencies of the all flexible quasi-solid DSSCs using this low-cost TiC-CC/PI CE achieved 86% of that based on a Pt/CC/PI CE. Thus, the facile fabrication process of this novel CE, along with its notable performance, are quite promising for the future roll-to-roll production of completely flexible DSSCs.
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