Synthesis of Single Crystal 2D Cu2FeSnS4 Nanosheets with High-Energy Facets (111) as a Pt-Free Counter Electrode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Jianming Wen; Suqin Chen; You Xu; Tuxiang Guan; Xiaoyan Zhang; Ningzhong Bao

doi:10.3390/ma16134743

Synthesis of Single Crystal 2D Cu₂FeSnS₄ Nanosheets with High-Energy Facets (111) as a Pt-Free Counter Electrode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Materials (Basel). 2023 Jun 30;16(13):4743. doi: 10.3390/ma16134743.

Authors

Jianming Wen¹, Suqin Chen¹, You Xu¹, Tuxiang Guan¹, Xiaoyan Zhang¹, Ningzhong Bao¹

Affiliation

¹ State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, China.

Abstract

Two-dimensional Cu₂FeSnS₄ (CFTS) nanosheets with exposed high-energy facets (111) have been synthesized by a facile, scalable, and cost-effective one-pot heating process. The CFTS phase formation is confirmed by both X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The formation mechanism of exposed high-energy facet CFTS growth is proposed and its electrochemical and photoelectrochemical properties are investigated in detail to reveal the origin of the anisotropic effect of the high-energy facets. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) achieve a favorable power conversion efficiency of 5.92% when employing CFTS thin film as a counter electrode, suggesting its potential as a cost-effective substitute for Pt in DSSCs.

Keywords: Cu2FeSnS4 nanosheets; counter electrode; dye-sensitized solar cells; high-energy facets.

Abstract

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