Laminated Carbon Materials Doped with B, N, and P Elements as DSSCs Counter Electrodes

Platinum (Pt), a frequently utilized counter electrode material for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), suffers from the disadvantages of a high price and poor stability, which have constrained the advancement of DSSCs. In order to identify potential replacements for Pt, this paper employs phytic acid (PA) as a carbon source and O-(Benzotriazol-1-yl)-N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate (TBTU) as a dopant to prepare laminated carbon materials containing three elements, B, N and P, via a hydrothermal reaction and high-temperature sintering process. The material displays robust electrocatalytic activity and exceptional electrochemical stability with a low interfacial transfer resistance (R ct). After preparation as a counter electrode and application to DSSCs, the PCE of DSSCs reached 8.75%, exceeding that of 8.59% by a Pt-CE. Moreover, the carbon source for this material is a byproduct of the processing of common foods (soybeans or wheat), making it low-cost compared to Pt and contributing to the sustainable development of DSSCs.