SOLID-STATE ELECTROLYTES FOR DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS

Volume : VII, Issue : IV, April - 2018

Dr. R. Mahendran, Mr. G. Sankar, Dr. P. Anbarasu, Dr. T. Sivakumar

A dye‐sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a low‐cost solar cell belonging to the group of thin 􀃶lm solar cells. It is based on a

semiconductor formed between a photo‐sensitized anode and an electrolyte, a photoelectrochemical system.

First version of a dye solar cell, also known as the Gr�tzel cell, was invented by Michael Gratzel. In a traditional solar cell, it is made from two

doped crystals, one doped with n‐type impurities (n type semiconductor), which add additional free conduction band electrons, and the

other doped with p‐type impurities (p type semiconductor), which add additional electron holes. When placed in contact, some of the

electrons in the n‐type portion 􀃸ow into the p‐type to "􀃶ll in" the missing electrons, also known as electron holes. Eventually enough

electrons will 􀃸ow across the boundary to equalize the Fermi levels of the two materials. The result is a region at the interface, the p‐ n

junction, where charge carriers are depleted and/or accumulated on each side of the interface. In silicon, this transfer of electrons produces

a potential barrier of about 0.6 to 0.7 V. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have aroused intense interest over the past decade owing to their

low cost and simple preparation procedures. Much effort has been de-voted to the study of electrolytes that enable light-to-electrical

power conversion for DSSC applications. This review focuses on recent progress in the 􀃶eld of liquid, solid-state, and quasi-solid-state

electrolytes for DSSCs.