STUDY ON SELECTIVE ELECTROLESS PLATING OF 3D PRINTED COUNTER ELECTRODES FOR DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS

摘要

Dye-Sensitized solar cells (DSSC) are considered to be the replacement for traditional silicon solar cells. DSSCs have been noticed widely due to its simplified material handling, easy fabrication, durability and their ability to perform better under diverse lighting conditions. However, there are significant challenges that are faced by DSSCs such as lower efficiency, chemical instability, and leakage of the electrolyte under high-temperature conditions. The fabrication of counter electrodes for DSSCs require the use of expensive materials and techniques which increases the cost as well as limits mass production. These limitations can be addressed through a cost-effective fabrication process for counter electrodes of DSSCs. This research focuses on enhancing the conductivity and catalytic activity of the counter electrodes of DSSCs through a novel selective electroless plating technique. The proposed selective electroless plating technique helps to overcome the issues of high cost, toxicity, and complex manufacturing processing of conventional DSSC. Moreover, the fabrication of the DSSC is supplemented using additive manufacturing technology. The technique further helps to enhance the performance, provide excellent design flexibility while reducing the manufacturing cost. The results of the study show selective electroless plating is an effective technique for the fabrication of low-cost counter electrodes for DSSCs. The efficiencies of the DSSC are comparable with DSSC fabricated through conventional expensive and toxic materials.