Mesoporous nanoflakes Cu2S counter electrode prepared from three-dimensional ordered macroporous Cu film for quantum dot-sensitized solar cell

Mesoporous nanoflakes Cu2S counter electrode (CE) was prepared from three-dimensional ordered macroporous (3-DOM) Cu film obtained by polystyrene microspheres assisted potentiostatic deposition for quantum dot-sensitized solar cell (QDSSC). The structrue of the Cu2S CE can be controlled by the size of polystyrene microspheres. The optimized Cu2S CE shows a charge transfer resistance (RCT) as low as 1.24 U cm(2), while the RCT of the Pt CE is 2250 U cm(2). A CdSe QDSSC based on the mesoporous nanoflakes Cu2S CE achieved a power conversion efficiency of 6.01%, which was higher than that based on Pt CE (1.74%) and ordinary Cu2S CE (4.85%). This enhancement can be attributed to the increased surface area, the easy electrolyte diffution and the improved electron transport of mesoporous nanoflakes Cu2S CE. This work provides a new effective approach for the structure control of Cu2S CE for high-efficiency QDSSC. (C) 2017 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.