One-step solvothermal method synthesizes petal-like Cu2WSx supported on carbon paper used in dye-sensitized solar cells

Sheet-like transition metal sulfides have promising applications in photocatalysis and energy conversion. This study provides a petal-like Cu2WSx nanosheet structure supported on carbon paper (CP) synthesized by a simple one-step solvothermal method. Cu2WSx microstructures with different morphologies were synthesized by solvothermal vulcanization of thioacetamide (TAA) at different concentrations. The Cu2WSx/CP was used as the counter electrode of DSSCs and compared with the Pt FTO electrode. It was proved that Cu2WSx-7 M/CP had the best electrocatalytic performance and obtained 9.01% photoelectric conversion efficiency. The different sulfide concentration changes the morphology of Cu2WSx and continuously affects the specific surface area and catalytic activity of the material. The better electrochemical performance shows that Cu2WSx/CP is expected to become a substitute for expensive Pt CE materials in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).