Corncob residues (CC) and sugarcane leaves (SL) are globally abundant agricultural residues. Thus, they are interesting materials for use in energy production. They were turned into carbon powders by carbonization at temperatures of 500–1100 °C under an argon atmosphere. These carbon powders were merged with a conductive polymer and covered on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates with a doctor blade for use as counter electrodes (CEs) of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Raman spectroscopy and SEM were utilized to study the chemical composition and surface configuration of the counter electrodes. The trend of electrical conductivity and electrochemical catalytic activity improves resulting from the elevated carbonization temperature. Corncobs carbonized at 1100 °C mixed in a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS, PP) (CC-PP 1100) sample provided the highest energy conversion efficiency, 5.85 ± 0.87%, against a platinum (Pt) CE (5.43 ± 0.48%) and exhibited the highest redox reaction. This is a result of the low resistivity and excellent catalytic activity of the CC-PP 1100 electrode. Moreover, this research provided the evidence of relationship between electrical conductivity and DSSC efficiency for the first time.

Graphical abstract

中文翻译：

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炭化温度对玉米芯和甘蔗叶农残染料敏化太阳能电池电催化性能和效率的影响

玉米芯残留物 (CC) 和甘蔗叶 (SL) 是全球丰富的农业残留物。因此，它们是用于能源生产的有趣材料。它们在氩气氛下在 500-1100°C 的温度下通过碳化变成碳粉。这些碳粉与导电聚合物合并，并用刮刀覆盖在掺氟氧化锡 (FTO) 玻璃基板上，用作染料敏化太阳能电池 (DSSC) 的对电极 (CE)。拉曼光谱和 SEM 用于研究反电极的化学成分和表面结构。由于碳化温度升高，电导率和电化学催化活性的趋势得到改善。在 1100 °C 下碳化的玉米芯混合在聚（3,4-乙烯二氧噻吩）中：聚（苯乙烯磺酸盐）（PEDOT：PSS，PP）（CC-PP 1100）样品相对于铂（Pt）CE（5.43±0.48％）提供最高的能量转换效率，5.85±0.87％，并表现出最高的氧化还原反应。这是 CC-PP 1100 电极的低电阻率和优异催化活性的结果。此外，该研究首次提供了电导率与 DSSC 效率之间关系的证据。

图形概要