In situ synthesis of ZnFe2O4 rough nanospheres on carbon nanofibers as an efficient titanium mesh substrate counter electrode for triiodide reduction in dye-sensitized solar cells

A new type of ZnFe2O4/CNFs composite has been synthesized by a two-step process of electrospinning and hydrothermal method and further applied as counter electrode on Ti mesh substruct in the dye-sensitized solar cells, which can deliver an overall power conversion efficiency of 9.05% at 100 mW·cm−2 illumination (AM 1.5G). Compare with traditional FTO glass, Ti mesh exhibits higher performance, which lead to the power conversion efficiency of CNFs is much higher than Pt counter electrode. [Display omitted] •ZnFe2O4/CNFs composite was successfully prepared by electrospinning and hydrothermal methods.•Low-cost Ti mesh was used as counter electrode substrate in DSSCs instead of FTO glass.•ZnFe2O4/CNFs Ti mesh CEs showed excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability.•The ZnFe2O4/CNFs counter electrode yielded a higher PCE (9.05%) than Pt CE (7.21%). There is no doubt that counter electrode (CE) plays a vital role in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Herein, Zinc Ferrite/carbon nanofibers (ZnFe2O4/CNFs) composite is successfully fabricated by electrospinning and hydrothermal method and coated on titanium (Ti) mesh as an efficient CE material, which is further applied to DSSCs. The Ti mesh has been done as conductive substrate to make the DSSCs have smaller transmission resistance, great stability and sustainable utilization. Via repeated measurements, the ZnFe2O4/CNFs CE which is prepared on Ti mesh exhibits good power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.05%, which is higher than commercial Platinum (Pt) fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) CE (7.21%) and CNFs Ti mesh CE (7.80%) under the same conditions. Most interestingly, the CNFs CE that prepared on Ti mesh has higher PCE than Pt CE, this is mainly due to the use of Ti mesh which is more conducive to the interface transport of iodine ion and electron transfer rate. All of these results indicate that ZnFe2O4/CNFs composite Ti mesh CE has high electrochemical performance and can be favorable for low-cost efficient DSSCs application.