Lithium-Chemical Synthesis of Highly Conductive 3D Mesoporous Graphene for Highly Efficient New Generation Solar Cells

In this study, a highly conductive three-dimensional mesoporous graphene (3DMG), which was synthesized by our discovered reaction of lithium (Li) liquid and CO gas, was demonstrated as a promising electrode material for the hole transport material (HTM) free perovskite solar cell (PSC) and the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), achieving high energy conversion efficiencies of 8.60% and 9.19%, respectively. The DSSC efficiency is higher than that (7.96%) of a DSSC with a standard Pt counter electrode. Furthermore, it was found that the electrical conductivity of 3DMG played a critical role in the PSC, but the DSSC performance was dependent on both its surface area and electrical conductivity. This would provide a novel approach to synthesize ideal electrode materials for energy devices.