Counter Electrodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Counter electrode is one of the important parts of dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSC). Improving the performance of a counter electrode is an effective approach to enhance the energy conversion efficiency and reduce the cost of DSSC.In this paper,recent progresses in the study of various counter electrodes for use in DSSC are reviewed.We present researches about different counter electrodes including metals such as platinum,gold and nickel,various nanostructured carbon materials, and conductive polymers.Platinum counter electrodes give the best performance but their high cost restricts the industrialization of DSSC.More attention is being paid to novel materials such as different nanostructured carbon materials,conductive polymers and their composite counter electrodes because of their low cost and high activity.