Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T23:55:13.514Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Dye Sensitized Solar Cell Stability and Performance Study Using Different Electrolytes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2011

Sailaja Radhakrishnan ,
Lakshmi V. Munukutla ,
Aung Htun  and
Arunachalanadar M. Kannan
Sailaja Radhakrishnan
Affiliation:
Arizona State University, Department of Engineering Technology, 6075 S. Williams Campus Loop, TECH Building, Mesa, AZ 85212, U.S.A.
Lakshmi V. Munukutla
Affiliation:
Arizona State University, Department of Engineering Technology, 6075 S. Williams Campus Loop, TECH Building, Mesa, AZ 85212, U.S.A.
Aung Htun
Affiliation:
Arizona State University, Department of Engineering Technology, 6075 S. Williams Campus Loop, TECH Building, Mesa, AZ 85212, U.S.A.
Arunachalanadar M. Kannan
Affiliation:
Arizona State University, Department of Engineering Technology, 6075 S. Williams Campus Loop, TECH Building, Mesa, AZ 85212, U.S.A.
Get access

Abstract

The overarching goal of Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) is to improve photovoltaic performance and their long-term stability for use in practical applications because of their simple fabrication technology at a reasonable cost. The focus of this paper is to achieve cell stability and also to improve solar energy conversion efficiency experimenting with different electrolytes. The electrolyte’s role is critical to sustain the DSS cell performance over time to instill cell stability. Four different electrolytes, Iodolyte R-150, AN-50, PN-50 and MPN-100, are experimented in this work for fabricating the dye-sensitized solar cells for studying both the stability and efficiency of the DSSCs.

The electrolyte selection was made using the following key electrolyte parameters; lower viscosity for easier injection into the cell, lower vapor pressure and higher boiling point to minimize electrolyte evaporation, wide redox window to generate sufficient donating electrons to the dye, lower cost and non-toxicity. Electrolytes with higher concentration of Iodolyte were chosen for this study to widen redox potential window. These are Iodide based redox electrolytes and are made with 100 mM of tri-iodide in 3-methoxypropionitrile. The results of this investigation revealed that the cell with Iodolyte R-150 electrolyte achieved improved performance having an efficiency of 10.2% when compared to the reference cell efficiency of 8.4% with Iodolyte R-50. These cells were stabilized over a time of 4 weeks. The fill factor of the cell changed about 10% and the internal resistance decreased from 6.7 to 4.3 Ω. The results of this experiment demonstrated reduced internal resistance, and improved fill factor contributed to higher cell efficiency and stability. The results of the work presented in this paper support the argument that electrolytes with higher Iodolyte concentration can enhance the cell efficiency and stability along with scaling down of the cell size.

Keywords

photovoltaicRusemiconducting
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1322: Symposium B – Third-Generation and Emerging Solar-Cell Technologies , 2011 , mrss11-1322-b08-41
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Kontosa, A. I., Kontosa, A. G., Tsouklerisa, D. S., Bernardc, M. C., Spyrellis, N., Falarasa, P., “Nanostructured TiO2 films for DSSCS prepared by combining doctor-blade and sol–gel techniques,” Journal of Materials processing technology, vol. 196, pp. 243–248, 2008.Google Scholar
2. Grinis, L., Dor, S., Ofir, A., Zaban, A., “Electrophoretic deposition and compression of titania nanoparticle films for dye-sensitized solar cells,” Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, vol. 198, pp. 52–59, 2008.Google Scholar
3. Tana, W., Yina, X., Zhoua, X., Zhanga, J., Xiaoa, X., Lina, Y., “Electrophoretic deposition of nanocrystalline TiO2 films on Ti substrates for use in flexible dye-sensitized solar cells,” Electrochimica Acta, vol. 54, pp. 4467–4472, 2009.Google Scholar
4. Kim, G. S., Seo, H. K., Godble, V.P., Kim, Y. S., Yang, O. B., Shin, H. S., “Electrophoretic deposition of titanate nanotubes from commercial titania nanoparticles: Application to dye-sensitized solar cells,” Electrochemistry Communications, vol. 8, pp. 961–966, 2006.Google Scholar
5. Jarernboon, W., Pimanpang, S., Maensiri, S., Swatsitang, E., Amornkitbamrung, V., “Optimization of titanium dioxide film prepared by electrophoretic deposition for dye-sensitized solar cell application,” ELSEVIER Thin Solid Films, vol. 517, pp. 4663–4667, 2009.Google Scholar
6. Chiba, Y., Islam, A., Watanabe, Y., Komiya, R., Koide, N., and Han, L., “Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Conversion Efficiency of 11.1%,” Japanese Journal of Applied Physic, vol. 45, pp. 638–640, 2006.Google Scholar
7. Grätzel, Michael, “Photoelectrochemical cells,” Nature, vol. 414, pp. 338–344, 2001.Google Scholar
8. West, W., “First hundred years of spectral sensitization,” Proc. Vogel Cent. Symp. Photogr. Sci. Eng., vol. 18, pp. 35–48, 1974.Google Scholar
9. Moser, J., “Notiz über die Verstärkung photoelectrischer Ströme durch optische Sensibilisierung,” Monatsh. Chem., 8, 373, 1887.Google Scholar