Low-Cost TiO2/MWCNT/Ag Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Based on Polypyrrole/SDS Counter Electrode

In this study, titanium dioxide/multiwall carbon nanotube and silver nanoparticles (TiO 2 /MWCNTs/Ag) nanocomposite is employed as photoanode incorporated with polypyrrole/sodium dodecyl sulphate (PPySDS) counter electrode 1 (C 1 ) and polypyrrole/sodium dodecyl sulphate/multiwall carbon nanotube (PPySDSMWCNT) counter electrode 2 (C 2 ) as lowcost counter electrodes compared with a platinum counter electrode to construct dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using Ru-based dyes Z907, pomegranate dye, arugula dye, and hibiscus dye as a photosensitized one.The working electrode composite is deposited on a transparent-conducting F:SnO 2 (FTO) glass substrate by a thermal chemical spraying technique and, then, anchored with dyes, while the counter electrodes are prepared by the electropolymerization method.The structural and optical properties and interconnectivity of the materials within the composite are investigated thoroughly through various characterization techniques x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM).Finally, the photovoltaic performances of the assembled DSSCs are tested under photoirradiation (100 mW/cm 2 ).The measured current-voltage (I-V) curve shows that the efficiency of DSSCs in the case of Z907 dye with C 1 and C 2 is of 2.537% and 2.453%, respectively, compared with the reference cell based on the Pt counter electrode, which has an efficiency of 3.57%, that indicates a good efficiency of the low-cost prepared DSSCs.The natural dyes exhibit a moderate efficiency ranging from 1.44-0.53%. / (TiO 2 /MWCNTs/Ag) , ' 1 (C 1 ) / (PPySDS) 2 (C 2 ) / / (PPySDSMWCNT)