Synthesising chain-like, interconnected Pt nanoparticles using a tubular halloysite clay template for an efficient counter electrode in dye-sensitised solar cells

Abstract

We report an inexpensive fabrication route of a mesoporous counter electrode made of chain-like Pt nanoparticles using a tubular halloysite clay template. The pre-coated halloysite tubes (HTs) on a conducting substrate act as a material synthesising platform for a highly interconnected chain-like Pt nanostructure. The Pt-HT composite counter electrode shows effective electrolyte interaction and high catalytic activity towards tri-iodide reduction. As a result, Pt-HT counter electrode based dye-sensitised solar cells exhibit a higher energy conversion efficiency of 9.5% compared to the flat-type Pt film based counter electrode (8.2%) using liquid-type electrolyte.