Synthesis of novel MoWO4 with ZnO nanoflowers on multi-walled carbon nanotubes for counter electrode application in dye-sensitized solar cells

Yonrapach Areerob; Chaowalit Hamontree; Phitchan Sricharoen; Nunticha Limchoowong; Supinya Nijpanich; Theeranuch Nachaithong; Won-Chun Oh; Kongsak Pattarith

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-16791-2

Synthesis of novel MoWO₄ with ZnO nanoflowers on multi-walled carbon nanotubes for counter electrode application in dye-sensitized solar cells

Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 21;12(1):12490. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-16791-2.

Authors

Yonrapach Areerob¹, Chaowalit Hamontree¹, Phitchan Sricharoen², Nunticha Limchoowong³, Supinya Nijpanich⁴, Theeranuch Nachaithong⁵, Won-Chun Oh^{6

7}, Kongsak Pattarith⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, 10520, Thailand.
² Department of Premedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Bangkokthonburi University, Thawi Watthana, Bangkok, 10170, Thailand.
³ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, 10110, Thailand.
⁴ Synchrotron Light Research Institute (Public Organization), 111 University Avenue, Muang District, Nakhon Ratchasima, 30000, Thailand.
⁵ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand.
⁶ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, 232001, People's Republic of China.
⁷ Department of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Hanseo University, Seosan-si, 31962, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea.
⁸ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Buriram Rajabhat University, Buriram, 31000, Thailand. kongsak.pr@bru.ac.th.

Abstract

Novel MoWO₄ with ZnO nanoflowers was synthesized on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MW-Z@MWCNTs) through a simple hydrothermal method, and this unique structure was applied as a counter electrode (CE) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) for the first time. The synergetic effect of ZnO nanoflowers and MoWO₄ on MWCNTs was systematically investigated by different techniques. The amount of MWCNTs was optimized to achieve the best DSSC performance. It was found that the 1.5% MW-Z@MWCNTs composite structure had the highest power conversion efficiency of 9.96%, which is greater than that of traditional Pt CE. Therefore, MW-Z@MWCNTs-based CE can be used to replace traditional Pt-based electrodes in the future.