Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were prepared by capitalizing on mesoporous P-25 TiO(2) nanoparticle film sensitized with N719 dyes. Subjecting TiO(2) nanoparticle films to TiCl(4) treatment, the device performance was improved. More importantly, O(2) plasma processing of TiO(2) film that was not previously TiCl(4)-treated resulted in a lower efficiency; by contrast, subsequent O(2) plasma e...

Porous copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) thin film was prepared via a solvothermal approach. Compared with conventional dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), double junction photoelectrochemical cells using dye-sensitized n-type TiO(2) (DS-TiO(2)) as the photoanode and porous p-type CZTS film as the photocathode shows an increased short circuit current, external quantum efficiency and power conversi...

We present the proof of concept of a new method for the rapid fabrication of co-sensitized plastic dye sensitized solar cells with dyes arranged in discrete layers. Using D131 and SQ2 in the devices, the layered method gives an efficiency of 4.1% on plastic substrates. This is a significant improvement over cocktail devices which give only an efficiency of 3.3%.

In the present study, protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) and squarine (SQ2) have been used in a co-sensitized dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) to apply their high absorption coefficients in the visible and NIR region of the solar spectrum and to probe the possibility of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the two dyes. FRET from the donor PPIX to acceptor SQ2 was observed from detailed inves...

Methoxy-substituted aromatic diimines and corresponding homoleptic copper( i ) ii complexes as possible redox mediators in dye-sensitized solar cells.

1.1 New type of solar cell: dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) The rising price of fossil fuels, together with their rapid depletion and the pollution caused by their combustion, is forcing us to find sources of clean renewable energy. Fortunately, the supply of energy from the sun to the earth is gigantic, i.e., 3 × 1024 joule a year or about ten thousand times more than what mankind consumes ...

BACKGROUND Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have garnered a lot of attention in recent years. The solar energy to power conversion efficiency of a DSSC is influenced by various components of the cell such as the dye, electrolyte, electrodes and additives among others leading to varying experimental configurations. A large number of metal-based and metal-free dye sensitizers have now been repo...

An inverse design methodology suitable to assist the synthesis and optimization of molecular sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells is introduced. The method searches for molecular adsorbates with suitable photoabsorption properties through continuous optimization of "alchemical" structures in the vicinity of a reference molecular framework. The approach is illustrated as applied to the des...

Recent progress in quantum dot (QD) sensitized solar cells has demonstrated the possibility of low-cost and efficient photovoltaics. However, the standard device structure based on n-type materials often suffers from slow hole injection rate, which may lead to unbalanced charge transport. We have fabricated efficient p-type (inverted) QD sensitized cells, which combine the advantages of convent...

In the present work, we report a simple method of making glass-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with individual free-standing TiO2 nanotube arrays.