@article{Wang2016, 
author = {Xiuwen Wang and Ying Xie and Buhe Bateer and Kai Pan and Yangtao Zhou and Yi Zhang and Guofeng Wang and Wei Zhou and Honggang Fu},
title = {Hexagonal FeS nanosheets with high-energy (001) facets: Counter electrode materials superior to platinum for dye-sensitized solar cells},
year = {2016},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {9},
number = {10},
pages = {2862-2874},
keywords = {catalytic reduction, FeS nanosheets, high-energy facets, counter electrode, first-principles calculation},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1007/s12274-016-1172-0},
doi = {10.1007/s12274-016-1172-0},
abstract = {The catalytic activity of materials is highly dependent on their composition and surface structure, especially the density of low-coordinated surface atoms. In this work, we have prepared two-dimensional hexagonal FeS with high-energy (001) facets (FeS-HE-001) via a solution-phase chemical method. Nanosheets (NSs) with exposed high-energy planes usually possess better reaction activity, so FeS-HE-001 was used as a counter electrode (CE) material for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). FeS-HE-001 achieved an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.88% (with the PCE of champion cells being 9.10%), which was almost 1.15 times higher than that of the Pt-based DSSCs (7.73%) measured in parallel. Cyclic voltammetry and Tafel polarization measurements revealed the excellent electrocatalytic activities of FeS-HE-001 towards the I 3–/I– redox reaction. This can be attributed to the promotion of photoelectron transfer, which was measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning Kelvin probe, and the strong I 3– adsorption and reduction activities, which were investigated using first-principles calculations. The presence of high-energy (001) facets in the NSs was an important factor for improving the catalytic reduction of I 3–. We believe that our method is a promising way for the design and synthesis of advanced CE materials for energy harvesting.}
}