Fabrication of innovative ZnCo2O4/Ti3C2Tx MXene nanocomposite counter electrode to replace Pt in dye-sensitized solar cells and improve solar cell performance

This study focuses on the fabrication and optimization of Ti3C2Tx/ZnCo2O4 (ZCO) hybrid counter electrodes (CEs) for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs). The Ti3C2Tx Max phase was initially prepared through a solid-state reaction method and subsequently transformed into the MXene phase using the minimally intensive layer delamination (MILD) technique. ZnCo2O4 was synthesized via the sol-gel method. Various analyses, including FESEM, XRD, EDS, CV, Tafel, XPS, IPCE, and HRTEM, were employed to characterize the prepared materials. The key parameter investigated involved CEs with different weight ratios of Ti3C2Tx to ZnCo2O4 (0 %, 20 %, 30 %, and 40 %). Results revealed that the optimized DSSC with 30 % Ti3C2Tx to ZCO exhibited a remarkable efficiency of 8.61 %, surpassing both the cell without MXene (5.59 % efficiency) and the one with a Pt CE (8.12 % efficiency). The enhanced performance was attributed to a significant increase in current density primarily driven by the higher electrocatalytic activity of the ZM30 CE and improved conductivity.