NiCo2O4/carbon nanofibers composite as an efficient counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

Herein, a composite of carbon fibers coated with bimetallic oxide NiCo2O4 are successfully synthesized by combination of electrospun and hydrothermal methods and applied as counter electrode (CE) catalytically for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). SEM images show the homogeneous distribution of NiCo2O4 nanosheets on the surface of CNFs, which provides enough active centers for electron collection and transmission and makes larger surface area. More importantly, the NiCo2O4/CNFs CE exhibits high efficiency and electrochemical stability, of which the short circuit current density (J(sc)) reachs 17.11 mA cm(-2). Due to the employment of NiCo2O4/CNFs composite as CE, the photoelectric conversion efficiency has achieved 7.80%, obviously higher than those of CNFs (5.75%) and Pt (7.35%).The cost-effective NiCo2O4/CNFs composite may be used to replace the conventional Pt CEs alternatively.