Effect of surface modification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on the fabrication and performance of carbon nanotube based counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

A polymeric surface modifier for multi-walled carbon nanotube (CNT) was prepared through living radical polymerization technique and applied to CNT paste for the preparation of carbon based counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cell. Poly(maleic anhydride-co-p-acetoxystyrene)-block-poly(p-acetoxystyrene) was first prepared through nitroxide mediated polymerization (NMP) technique, followed by introduction of pyrene units to the polymer backbone through imidization reaction. Hydrolysis reaction was then performed to convert p-acetoxystyrene repeating units to p-hydroxystyrene repeating units, affording poly(maleic acid-co-p-hydroxystyrene)-block-poly(p-hydroxystyrene). The block copolymer was applied to the modification of CNT and a paste was prepared employing the modified CNT. A counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cell was fabricated using the CNT paste. The effect of surface modification of CNT on the processibility and performance of the counter electrode and dye-sensitized solar cells were investigated.