I had made many Au Counter electrodes using ion sputtering for different times. But the problem is these counter electrodes are not mechanically stable on the FTO substrate and peeled of with the application of the polysulfide electrolyte. this result in low performance of the solar cell compared to platinum couner electrode, in opposite manner to the reports
So, is any one had optimized the fabrication process of Au counter electrode
please try using a sputtering with the substrate temperature of 300C, results are more stable mechanical properties
Dear Amr,
In sputtering under cold substrate condition the Gold is deposited on the substrate like dust. So, its adhesion to the substrate material FTO will be very weak and the layer will peel up easily. In addition Gold is a noble metal and it does not bind easily with the substrate. So, you may activate the binding to the substrate by heating it dung the sputtering or you can even post anneal it at relatively elevated temperatures to affect interdiffusion between the substrate material and the Gold layer. I mean intermixing through the interface.
Another solution is to use an adhesive layer between the Gold and the FTO. You can use thin silver later of nickel layer as they have more affinity to oxygen and therefore can build stronger contact and then you deposit on it directly the Gold layer.
Since gold can be drawn in very thin foils, you can cover the substrate with gold foil using resin material or even silver epoxy.
wish you success
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