Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Hierarchically Structured John Beach, Washington University in St. Louis, 2012 SURF Fellow Advisor: Prof. Zhiqun Lin; Mentor: Dr. Xukai Xin

Introduction Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are widely recognized as a promising alternative and cost-effective technology for solar-toelectric energy conversion. Current silicon solar cells are limited due to their lack of flexibility, high cost of manufacturing and installation, and heavy weight. Alternatively, dye-sensitized solar cells have a very simple fabrication process, low fabrication cost, and current research continues to increase the efficiency of these solar cells. One of the barriers that needs to be overcome to make dye-sensitized solar cells more commercially viable is to find a replacement for the platinum counter electrode (CE) that is currently used. Considerable research has been done in the hopes of replacing platinum with a low cost alternative that is both nontoxic and earth abundant. Thus, by replacing platinum with Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanocrystals mixed with graphene, it is hoped that a viable alternative will be available for future dye-sensitized solar cells.