Catalytic Performance of Pt/rGO using Stacked Layer Technique for DSSC Counter Electrode

The stacked layer technique of platinum (Pt) and reduce graphene oxide (rGO) counters electrode thin film fabricated by using doctor blade method was prepared. The first layer with direct intact on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate was graphene thin film and second layer on top of graphene layer was Pt thin film. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were performed on the thin films to determine the formation of crystallite structure and the surface roughness of the thin films, respectively. The crystallite size was determined from XRD data and it shows that Pt/rGO-10 thin film has the suitable crystal size for a better catalytic activity. As for surface roughness analysis from AFM images, Pt and Pt/rGO thin films exhibit the rougher surface compared to rGO thin film. The thin films were further analysed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) to observe the adhesion of Pt and rGO on FTO glass substrate in nanoscale image. The catalytic activity of each thin film was measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The Pt/rGO counter electrode of 10μl aqueous graphene oxide denoted as Pt/rGO-10 has high catalytic activity compare to Pt. The Pt/rGO-10 recorded the highest current density at -3.075 mA/cm-2 indicate a high catalytic activity at the counter electrode. Thus, Pt/rGO-10 counter electrode thin film deemed as comparable to conventional counter electrode material which is Pt. Therefore, Pt/rGO-10 counter electrode is expected to improve the performance of Dye-sensitized solar cell.