TY - JOUR
T1 - Rational Design of NiCo2S4Quantum Dot-Modified Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotube Composites as Robust Pt-Free Electrocatalysts for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
AU - Su, Pengju
AU - Jiao, Qingze
AU - Li, Hansheng
AU - Li, Yongjian
AU - Liu, Xiufeng
AU - Wu, Qin
AU - Shi, Daxin
AU - Zhao, Yun
AU - Wang, Tong
AU - Wang, Wei
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©
PY - 2021/5/24
Y1 - 2021/5/24
N2 - Composite materials made of bimetallic sulfide quantum dots and carbon nanotubes are promising electrocatalysts due to the large specific surface area and synergistic effect between sulfides and carbon components. In this work, NiCo2S4 quantum dot-modified nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NiCo2S4 QD@NCNTs) are prepared by a two-step solvothermal method, followed by calcination. The dye-sensitized solar cells containing NiCo2S4 QD@NCNTs as a counter electrode (CE) achieve a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 7.65%, which is superior to that of Pt (7.39%), and exhibit good electrochemical stability in iodine-based electrolytes. The notable performance is attributed to the synergistic effect between NiCo2S4 QD and NCNTs. Hence, polypyrrole-derived NCNTs with high electrical conductivity and many uniformly dispersed N-doped species on the surface tightly anchor NiCo2S4 QD through metal-nitrogen bonds (metal-N-C bonds). As a result, the transfer of electrons from the skeleton to the active site is promoted, the agglomeration of NiCo2S4 QD is hampered, and more active sites are available.
AB - Composite materials made of bimetallic sulfide quantum dots and carbon nanotubes are promising electrocatalysts due to the large specific surface area and synergistic effect between sulfides and carbon components. In this work, NiCo2S4 quantum dot-modified nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NiCo2S4 QD@NCNTs) are prepared by a two-step solvothermal method, followed by calcination. The dye-sensitized solar cells containing NiCo2S4 QD@NCNTs as a counter electrode (CE) achieve a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 7.65%, which is superior to that of Pt (7.39%), and exhibit good electrochemical stability in iodine-based electrolytes. The notable performance is attributed to the synergistic effect between NiCo2S4 QD and NCNTs. Hence, polypyrrole-derived NCNTs with high electrical conductivity and many uniformly dispersed N-doped species on the surface tightly anchor NiCo2S4 QD through metal-nitrogen bonds (metal-N-C bonds). As a result, the transfer of electrons from the skeleton to the active site is promoted, the agglomeration of NiCo2S4 QD is hampered, and more active sites are available.
KW - NiCoS
KW - counter electrode
KW - dye-sensitized solar cell
KW - nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes
KW - quantum dot
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106630294&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsaem.0c03009
DO - 10.1021/acsaem.0c03009
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85106630294
SN - 2574-0962
VL - 4
SP - 4344
EP - 4354
JO - ACS Applied Energy Materials
JF - ACS Applied Energy Materials
IS - 5
ER -