Palladium films as cathode in dye-sensitized solar cell: influence of the concentration of potassium hexachloropalladate

Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) using Pt-standard cathode possesses a major drawback that its price is high. This work deals with the preparation of Palladium (Pd) cathode via a simple technique that is liquid phase deposition (LPD) technique for DSSC. The influence of Pd content in term of the concentration of potassium hexachloropalladate (K2PdCl6) on the properties and the performance of the device has been investigated. The XRD analysis reveals that the dominant phase of Pd exists in the sample. The UV-Vis transmission signifies that the transmittance of the sample is significantly influenced by the concentration of K2PdCl6. According to the FESEM observation, the grain size of Pd increases with the concentration of K2PdCl6. The device fabricated using Pd cathode prepared at 1.00 mM K2PdCl6 yielded the highest efficiency (eta) of 4.12%, while that of the device with Pt cathode was 5.04%. This is due to this device owns the lowest series resistance (Rs), highest recombination resistance (Rcr) and longest carrier lifetime (tau). In conclusions, the efficiency of the device is found to be significantly affected by Pd content. Pd cathode is able to substitute Pt as cathode for the device since the efficiency for both devices is comparable.