Polythiophene-Based Mesoporous Counter Electrodes for Plastic Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Thin films of high cathodic activity for use in the counter electrode of a plastic dye-sensitized solar cell were prepared in the form of a mesoporous composite of metal oxide and conductive polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT-PSS). The mesoporous film was prepared on an indium tin oxide-coated plastic electrode substrate by low temperature printing processes. As a low cost alternative to the conventional platinum-coated electrodes, it showed high activity as a cathode in a full-plastic dye-sensitized solar cell, yielding a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 4.38%, which is close to that of the cell based on a vacuum-sputtered platinum electrode. Among various metal oxides ( , ZnO, NiO, and ), nanoparticles showed high activity in photocurrent enhancement in combination with PEDOT-PSS.