Wurtzite copper-zinc-tin sulfide as a superior counter electrode material for dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Wurtzite and kesterite Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanocrystals were employed as counter electrode (CE) materials for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Compared to kesterite CZTS, the wurtzite CZTS exhibited higher electrocatalytic activity for catalyzing reduction of iodide electrolyte and better conductivity. Accordingly, the DSSC with wurtzite CZTS CE generated higher power conversion efficiency (6.89%) than that of Pt (6.23%) and kesterite CZTS (4.89%) CEs. © 2013 Kong et al.