Abstract
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) belong to the group of thin-film solar cells which have been under extensive research for more than two decades due to their low cost, simple preparation methodology, low toxicity and ease of production. Still, there is lot of scope for the replacement of current DSSC materials due to their high cost, less abundance, and long-term stability. The efficiency of existing DSSCs reaches up to 12%, using Ru(II) dyes by optimizing material and structural properties which is still less than the efficiency offered by first- and second-generation solar cells, i.e., other thin-film solar cells and Si-based solar cells which offer ~ 20–30% efficiency. This article provides an in-depth review on DSSC construction, operating principle, key problems (low efficiency, low scalability, and low stability), prospective efficient materials, and finally a brief insight to commercialization.
Highlights
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have arisen as a technically and economically credible alternative to the p-n junction photovoltaic devices
The performance of a dye-sensitized solar cell can be evaluated by using incident photon to current conversion efficiency (IPCE, %), short circuit current (JSC, mAcm− 2), open circuit voltage (VOC, V), maximum power output [Maximum power output (Pmax)], overall efficiency [η, %], and fill factor [Fill factor (FF)] at a constant light level exposure as shown in Eq 1 [44]
The main aim of this study was to put a comprehensive review on new materials for photoanodes, counter electrodes, electrolytes, and sensitizers as to provide low-cost, flexible, environmentally sustainable, and easy to synthesize DSSCs
Summary
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have arisen as a technically and economically credible alternative to the p-n junction photovoltaic devices. In the late 1960s, it was discovered that electricity can be generated through illuminated organic dyes in electrochemical cells. First chlorophyllsensitized zinc oxide (ZnO) electrode was synthesized in 1972. A lot of research has been done on ZnO-single crystals [2], but the efficiency of these dye-sensitized solar cells was very poor, as the monolayer of dye molecules was able to absorb incident light only up to 1%. The efficiency was improved by optimizing the porosity of the electrode made up of fine oxide powder, so that the absorption of dye over electrode could be enhanced and as a result light harvesting efficiency (LHE) could be enhanced. Nanoporous titanium dioxide (TiO2) electrodes with a roughness factor of ca.1000
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