Monte Carlo simulation for optimization of a simple and efficient bifacial DSSC with a scattering layer in the middle

Abstract

Bifacial dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) show potential for use in diffuse and low light environments, but their photoanode light scattering properties have not been optimised. We examine DSSC photoanodes composed of a mixed scattering layer (made by blend of 18NR-T and WER2-O pastes), sandwiched between nanostructured TiO2 layers (made by 18NR-T paste). WER2-O paste was chossen after accessing scattering properties: scattering coefficient (S), forward scattering ratio (FSR) and forward path length enhancement (FPLE) of the solid TiO2 particles of different shapes and sizes. Monte Carlo simulations of light harvesting indicate the optimal volume fraction of scattering particles (fvsca) in the sandwiched layer to be 5–30%. The proposed photoanode absorbs light effectively and the DSSC with scattering layer made by blend of 60% of 18NR-T and 40% of WER2-O paste showed the power conversion efficiency (PEC) of 8.54% and 5.26%, when illuminated from photoanode (PA) and counter electrode (CE) side, respectively. The effective sorting criteria and optimization routine used in this work can also be used for other devices like perovskite solar cells.