Synthesis of honeycomb-like Mesoporous pyrite FeS2 Microspheres as efficient counter electrode in quantum dots sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Honeycomb-like mesoporous pyrite FeS 2 microspheres, with diameters of 500-800 nm and pore sizes of 25-30 nm, are synthesized by a simple solvothermal approach. The mesoporous FeS 2 microspheres are demonstrated to be an outstanding counter electrode (CE) material in quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) for electrocatalyzing polysulfi de electrolyte regeneration. The cell using mesoporous FeS 2 microspheres as CE shows 86.6% enhancement in power conversion effi ciency (PCE) than the cell using traditional noble Pt CE. Furthermore, it also shows 11.4% enhancement in PCE than the cell using solid FeS 2 microspheres as CE, due to the mesoporous structure facilitating better contact with polysulfi de electrolyte and fast diffusion of redox couple species in electrolyte.