La 0.65 Sr 0.35 MnO 3 @RGO nanocomposites as an effective counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract In this paper, the nanocomposites of the perovskite-phase La0.65Sr0.35MnO3 nanoparticles with reduced graphene oxide (LSMO@RGO) have been successfully prepared via the solution combustion method. LSMO@RGO nanocomposites exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance for reduction of triiodide, owing to the positive synergetic effect between LSMO nanoparticles and RGO sheets. As a consequence, the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) with the LSMO@RGO nanocomposites counter electrode (CE) yielded a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.57%, which is observably higher than that of using pristine LSMO CE (5.35%) or RGO CE (4.93%) alone, and up to 92% of the Pt CE (7.13%).