Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) Materials For Solar Energy
Energy shortage and environmental pollution are the two major problems facing human beings. The use of solar energy, a renewable and clean energy, is the key way to solve the problem. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have been developed along with new energy materials. DSSC materials mainly include transparent conductive glass, TiO2 nanocrystalline film, photosensitive dye, electrolyte and counter electrode. After the photosensitive dye absorbs the sun, the excited dye molecules transfer electrons to the TiO2 nanocrystal grains. Through the electron transmission channel formed by nanocrystalline grains, electrons will be collected on the transparent conductive glass. The oxidized dye that has lost electrons returns to the ground state under the action of the reduced substance in the electrolyte. Finally, the oxidized electrolyte is reduced at the counter electrode, thereby completing the entire battery reaction process and realizing photoelectric conversion. DSSC can be made of low-cost materials, and does not require copper fine equipment to manufacture, and the cost is low. And it can be made into a soft sheet, which has high mechanical strength and does not require special protection. Therefore, DSSC has the advantages of simple process, low cost and environmental friendliness, and can be used in the construction industry, power stations, traffic lighting and other fields.
Figure 1. The structure and working principle of DSSC
Applications:
- Construction industry: The use of DSSC material as the glass curtain wall can achieve self-sufficiency of building energy at low cost, without chemical pollution, good integrity, and achieve photovoltaic building integration. The application of DSSC can make the glass curtain wall into a variety of colors to ensure the aesthetics of the building.
- Power station: Due to its low light effect, DSSC material can work more than 8 hours per day, which is much higher than the 4 hours per day of silicon crystal solar cells. This makes up for the relatively low luminous efficiency of DSSC. In addition, the DSSC has a simple preparation process and low cost, which can reduce the cost of a power station.
- Lighting source: DSSC's superior low-light effect makes the battery module more advantageous in the application of solar traffic lights and public lighting systems. The matching use of LED energy-saving lamps and DSSC can create passive lighting.
Reference
- Swapna Lilly Cyriac, B Deepika, Bhaskaran Pillai, S V Nair, K R V Subramanian. Development of a new solid-state absorber material for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) [J]. Bulletin of Materials Science 2014, 37, 685–693.
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