{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T17:03:07Z","timestamp":1790096587520,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":80,"publisher":"American Chemical Society (ACS)","issue":"37","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]],"date-time":"2026-09-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788739200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100006013","name":"United Arab Emirates University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["G00005363"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["G00005363"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100006013","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The development of sustainable, cost-effective, and high-performance counter electrodes (CEs) remains a major challenge in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) research. Although Pt remains the benchmark CE because of its excellent electrocatalytic activity and electrical conductivity, its scarcity and high cost motivate the development of efficient Pt-free alternatives. Herein, we report a novel Pt-free counter electrode based on a MOF-derived ZnO\/NiCo2O4\/Nb2C MXene composite for DSSC applications. The counter electrode materials were synthesized by a hydrothermal method and systematically characterized to evaluate their structural, morphological, and photovoltaic properties. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed characteristic peaks at 36.3\u00b0, 34.1\u00b0, and 40.3\u00b0, confirming the formation of ZnO, NiCo2O4, and Nb2C. The optimized ZnO\/NiCo2O4\/Nb2C MXene counter electrode achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.08%, comparable to that of Pt-based DSSCs under standard illumination. This enhanced performance is attributed to the synergistic effects of high catalytic activity, rapid charge transfer, and robust structural integrity in the MOF-derived ZnO\/NiCo2O4\/Nb2C MXene composite. Also, the addition of Nb2C MXene significantly enhanced the overall electrical conductivity and accelerated electron transfer kinetics at the electrolyte\u2013electrode interface. These findings demonstrate that the ZnO\/NiCo2O4\/Nb2C MXene composite is a promising platinum-free counter electrode for advancing DSSCs toward practical commercialization and large-scale energy harvesting applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1021\/acsomega.6c07351","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T05:01:52Z","timestamp":1788498112000},"page":"56360-56372","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Hierarchical ZnO\/NiCo2O4\/Nb2C: A Novel Counter Electrode for\nPlatinum-Free Dye-Sensitized\nSolar Cells"],"prefix":"10.1021","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8819-4027","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Nizamudeen","family":"Cherupurakal","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"United Arab Emirate University , , , P.O. Box 15551,","place":["Al Ain, UAE"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9275-5878","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ramachandran","family":"Krishnapriya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"United Arab Emirate University , , , P.O. Box 15551,","place":["Al Ain, UAE"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saifudeen","family":"Kabeer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"United Arab Emirates University , , , P.O. Box 15551,","place":["Al Ain, UAE"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4399-0123","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sambasivam","family":"Sangaraju","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"United Arab Emirates University , , , P.O. Box 15551,","place":["Al Ain, UAE"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"316","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026092211024126300_cit1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"142717","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclepro.2024.142717","article-title":"Revolutionizing dye-sensitized solar cells with nanomaterials for\nenhanced photoelectric performance","volume":"464","author":"Zheng","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Clean.\nProd"},{"key":"2026092211024126300_cit2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"118052","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mseb.2025.118052","article-title":"Research progress on\ndyes for n-type dye-sensitized solar cells","volume":"314","author":"Lin","year":"2025","journal-title":"Mater. Sci. Eng., B"},{"key":"2026092211024126300_cit3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"40","DOI":"10.1002\/ep.13603","article-title":"Natural\ndye-sensitized solar cells:\nCase study with tropical organic pigments","volume":"40","author":"Pereira","year":"2021","journal-title":"Environ.\nProg. Sustain. Energy"},{"key":"2026092211024126300_cit4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"24699","DOI":"10.1039\/D3RA04345B","article-title":"Advances and prospects\nof porphyrin derivatives in the energy field","volume":"13","author":"Xie","year":"2023","journal-title":"RSC Adv"},{"key":"2026092211024126300_cit5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"111087","DOI":"10.1016\/j.dyepig.2023.111087","article-title":"Insight on\nthe choice of sensitizers\/dyes for dye sensitized solar cells: A review","volume":"213","author":"Sen","year":"2023","journal-title":"Dyes Pigm"},{"key":"2026092211024126300_cit6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12450","DOI":"10.1039\/D0CS01336F","article-title":"Dye-sensitized solar\ncells strike back","volume":"50","author":"Mun\u0303oz-Garci\u0301a","year":"2021","journal-title":"Chem. Soc. 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Power Sources"},{"key":"2026092211024126300_cit11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12309","DOI":"10.1039\/D3RA00926B","article-title":"An overview of the preparation and\napplication of counter electrodes\nfor DSSCs","volume":"13","author":"Ding","year":"2023","journal-title":"RSC Adv"},{"key":"2026092211024126300_cit12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"257","DOI":"10.1007\/s40243-023-00247-2","article-title":"Platinum nanoparticles decorated\nmultiwalled carbon nanotube composites as highly transparent, bifacial\ncounter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells","volume":"12","author":"Krishnapriya","year":"2023","journal-title":"Mater. Renew. 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Power Sources"},{"key":"2026092211024126300_cit19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"117730","DOI":"10.1016\/j.energy.2020.117730","article-title":"Facile\nsynthesis of cobalt\u2013nickel sulfide thin\nfilm as a promising counter electrode for triiodide reduction in dye-sensitized\nsolar cells","volume":"202","author":"Patil","year":"2020","journal-title":"Energy"},{"key":"2026092211024126300_cit20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"113097","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpcs.2025.113097","article-title":"WS2\/Nb2O5\nnanocomposite as a 2D\/0D heterostructures for high performances of\nPt-free dye sensitized solar cells and supercapacitor applications","volume":"208","author":"Karthigaimuthu","year":"2026","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. 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