Optimized Photoelectric Catalysis with Enhanced Durability in Rgo-Interconnected Nanaocarbon-Confined Cobalt Nanoparticles

Abstract

Rational construction of the electrocatalytic centers is effective yet challenging for designing the high-efficient-stable counter electrodes (CEs) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Herein, the Prussian blue analogue (PBA)-derived nanocarbon-confined cobalt nanoparticles were successfully interconnected by the reduced graphene oxide network (Co-NC@rGO) and employed as the CE. In this interconnecting-and-confining scenario, the ambient graphitic carbon-shell and rGO network not only establish a communicating charge transfer bridge, but also greatly hinder the corrosion of the cobalt core in iodine electrolyte, thus endowing the catalyst fast reaction kinetics and outstanding durability. Simultaneously, the nanocarbon-concentrated cobalt active core ensures the composite extraordinary catalytic activity towards the triiodide/iodide redox couple, finally realizing the higher power conversion efficiency (PCE = 8.82%) than that of the commercial Pt CE (7.79%). The results deliver a new avenue to designed the promising carbonaceous CE catalyst with optimized active centers, which may play a vital role in DSSCs and wider energy applications.