Multi-walled carbon nanotubes and polypyrrole composites: A promising approach for dye-sensitized solar cell enhancement

Abstract

The Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) counter electrodes were fabricated using a three-electro deposition technique. The counter electrodes were constructed by depositing Polypyrrole (PPy) and its composites with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and copper layers on a stainless-steel substrate. This approach yielded 5-layer, 4-layer, and 2-layer MWCNTs/PPy/Cu composite counter electrodes. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) were employed to analyze the electrochemical properties, crystallographic structure, and electrocatalytic activity of the counter electrodes, respectively. The 5-layer MWCNTs/PPy/Cu-coated counter electrode demonstrated the lowest charge transfer resistance and exhibited superior catalytic activity compared to the other fabricated counter electrodes and the polypyrrole electrode.