Article Title

Hexagonal FeS nanosheets with high-energy (001) facets: Counter electrode materials superior to platinum for dye-sensitized solar cells

Authors

Xiuwen Wang, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Ying Xie, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Buhe Bateer, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Heilongjiang Institute of Technology, Harbin 150050, China
Kai Pan, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Yangtao Zhou, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Yi Zhang, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Guofeng Wang, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Wei Zhou, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Honggang Fu, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China

Keywords

FeS nanosheets, high-energy facets, counter electrode, first-principles calculation, catalytic reduction

Abstract

The catalytic activity of materials is highly dependent on their composition andsurface structure, especially the density of low-coordinated surface atoms. Inthis work, we have prepared two-dimensional hexagonal FeS with high-energy(001) facets (FeS-HE-001) via a solution-phase chemical method. Nanosheets(NSs) with exposed high-energy planes usually possess better reaction activity,so FeS-HE-001 was used as a counter electrode (CE) material for dye-sensitizedsolar cells (DSSCs). FeS-HE-001 achieved an average power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 8.88% (with the PCE of champion cells being 9.10%), which was almost1.15 times higher than that of the Pt-based DSSCs (7.73%) measured in parallel.Cyclic voltammetry and Tafel polarization measurements revealed the excellentelectrocatalytic activities of FeS-HE-001 towards the I3–/I– redox reaction. Thiscan be attributed to the promotion of photoelectron transfer, which was measuredby electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning Kelvin probe, and thestrong I3– adsorption and reduction activities, which were investigated usingfirst-principles calculations. The presence of high-energy (001) facets in the NSswas an important factor for improving the catalytic reduction of I3–. We believethat our method is a promising way for the design and synthesis of advanced CEmaterials for energy harvesting.

Graphical Abstract

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1172-0

Publisher

Tsinghua University Press

Recommended Citation

Xiuwen Wang,Ying Xie,Buhe Bateer,Kai Pan,Yangtao Zhou,Yi Zhang,Guofeng Wang,Wei Zhou,Honggang Fu, Hexagonal FeS nanosheets with high-energy (001) facets: Counter electrode materials superior to platinum for dye-sensitized solar cells. NanoRes.2016, 9(10): 2862–2874