Water-Based Electrolytes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

摘要

The dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a photovoltaic technology that has recently entered production for the market. Submodule efficiencies have reached 8.4%. One advantage of DSSC technology is its compatibility with roll-to-roll production of flexible, lightweight cells using metal and plastic foils. DSSCs are photoelectrochemical devices that are constructed with a thin (≈20 μm) liquid organic electrolyte layer. A disadvantage of the flexible plastic design, as opposed to glass, is that water can permeate into the device relatively rapidly. Permeation can be reduced by barrier layers, but this increases the cost.