A novel two-step approach is presented for the fabrication of self-assembled monolayers of platinum nanocrystals (SAM-Pt) uniformly deposited on a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) surface to serve as a counter electrode (CE) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). A true self-assembled Pt nanocrystalline monolayer with a mean particle size of ∼3 nm at facet {111} was unambiguously observed in the high-resolution TEM images. We emphasize that the SAM-Pt films feature a clean surface, uniform morphology, narrow size distribution, small Pt loading and great catalytic activity; the present approach is hence not only suitable for DSSCs but is also promising for many other energy-related applications that require platinum as an efficient catalyst to expedite the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).
- Lu-Lin Li
- Hsin-Hui Wu
- Eric Wei-Guang Diau
