The very high cost, scarcity and dissolubility of platinum (Pt) is the center of debates as a counter electrode (CE) in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) research domain. To deal with such core issues, herein, novel low-cost and electro-catalytically active inter-metallic nickel aluminide (Ni₃Al) thin films have been fabricated successfully on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates by DC magnetron sputtering at room temperature. For the first time, Ni₃Al has been utilized as a CE for DSSCs application. Further, the solar cell performance of Ni₃Al based DSSC has compared with the sputtered coated Pt thin film based DSSC performance. Under open atmospheric experimental preparation conditions (in air), a maximum power conversion efficiency of 3% has been achieved with Ni₃Al CE. The obtained efficiency is quite analogous to a DSSC fabricated with a Pt CE. Further, as-fabricated Ni₃Al CEs have exhibited better electrochemical catalytic activity and anti-corrosion effect than that of sputtered Pt CEs. The low-cost and excellent electrocatalytic properties of intermetallic Ni₃Al thin films may pave the way towards development of Pt-free CE for DSSCs.

铂（Pt）的极高成本，稀缺性和溶解性是染料敏化太阳能电池（DSSCs）研究领域中对电极（CE）的争论焦点。为了解决这些核心问题，本文中，已经通过室温下的DC磁控溅射在氟掺杂的氧化锡衬底上成功地制造了新颖的低成本且电催化活性的金属间铝化镍（Ni ₃ Al）薄膜。Ni ₃ Al首次被用作DSSC应用的CE。此外，Ni ₃的太阳能电池性能基于Al的DSSC已与基于溅射涂覆的Pt薄膜的DSSC性能进行了比较。在开放的大气实验准备条件下（在空气中），使用Ni ₃ Al CE可获得3％的最大功率转换效率。所获得的效率与用Pt CE制造的DSSC非常相似。此外，与溅射的Pt CE相比，所制造的Ni ₃ Al CE具有更好的电化学催化活性和抗腐蚀作用。金属间Ni ₃ Al薄膜的低成本和优异的电催化性能可能为DSSC的无铂CE的开发铺平道路。