How do dye sensitized solar cells work?
The working principle of DSSC involves four basic steps: light absorption, electron injection, transportation of carrier, and collection of current. These injected electrons are transported between TiO2 nanoparticles and diffuse towards the back contact (transparent conducting oxide [TCO]).
Why FTO is used in DSSC?
… Commonly, FTO and ITO are used as TCF in DSSCs application. The FTO substrate is widely utilized due to its higher energy conversion efficiency of around ~9.6% as compared to ITO ~2.24% for DSSCs application (Sima et al., 2010) . The FTO (2.5% of F) substrate also presented a lower resistivity of ~6 x 10 -4 Ω.
What is the basic principle of solar cell?
the photovoltaic effect
A solar cell is a device that directly converts the energy of light into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. Solar cells or photovoltaic cells are made based on the principle of the photovoltaic effect. They convert sunlight into direct current (DC) electricity.
What is the function of natural dye in a dye sensitized solar cell?
Natural dyes were extracted from different parts of plants using different extracting solvents. Natural dyes were used as a light harvesting pigments for Dye-sensitized solar cell. The effect of dye extracting solvents on the performance of solar energy conversion has been studied.
What is dye in dye sensitized solar?
A modern n-type DSSC, the most common type of DSSC, is composed of a porous layer of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, covered with a molecular dye that absorbs sunlight, like the chlorophyll in green leaves. The titanium dioxide is immersed under an electrolyte solution, above which is a platinum-based catalyst.
How do Gratzel cells work?
Like solar cells, Grätzel cells convert sunlight energy into electric current but they do not store energy. They depend on a non-galvanic chemical action in which the active chemicals are constantly regenerated. The absorbed energy is sufficient to knock an electron from the excited chlorophyll.
What is FTO substrate?
FTO (Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide) glass is a transparent conductive metal oxide that can be used in the fabrication of transparent electrodes for thin film photovoltaics, such as: organic photovoltaic, amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, dye-sensitised solar cells, and hybrid perovskites.
What is FTO layer?
New transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films, fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) films coated on indium–tin oxide (ITO) films, were developed for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC). After the deposition of ITO, FTO films were consecutively deposited for protecting oxidation of ITO films.
What is the working of solar cell?
A solar cell is a sandwich of n-type silicon (blue) and p-type silicon (red). It generates electricity by using sunlight to make electrons hop across the junction between the different flavors of silicon: When sunlight shines on the cell, photons (light particles) bombard the upper surface.
What are 3 applications of solar cells?
Solar Cell for Transportation. Solar energy is used in cars. This solar power is created by photovoltaic cells.
What different ingredients are required in fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells?
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were constructed by using the Henna (Lawsonia inermis) leaves and Beetroot as natural sensitizers of anatase-based nanostructure TiO2 thin film Paint-coated on FTO conducting glass.
Which dyes are used in organic solar cells?
Eight organic dyes are used as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells. These dyes are eosin Y, aniline blue, bromophenol blue, alcian blue, methyl orange, crystal violet, fast green, and carbol fuchsin. The absorption spectra of these dyes are carried out by UV-VIS spectrophotometry.
Why are dye solar cells sensitive to temperature?
Dye solar cells do warm up when light shines on the cell. This can affect the Fill factor as well as the efficiency of a DSC. Dye solar cells are very sensitive to temperature changes as they incorporate semiconductor materials. The semiconductor’s band gap narrows with increasing temperatures (see also Figure 2).
How are dye sensitized solar cells used in MEC applications?
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are photovoltaic devices that are used to convert light energy into electrical energy by the use of organic dyes (photosensitizers) and semiconductors. They prove to the most economical and sustainable power supply for MEC applications because solar energy is the most abundant form of renewable energy.
How is dye sensitized photoanode used in DSSC?
The dye-sensitized photoanode is responsible for light absorbing and charge injection, while counter electrode is for redox pair reduction, and redox electrolyte or hole transporting material is for dye reduction. The mechanism of DSSC is depicted later.
How is an external load powered in a dye solar cell?
An external load can be powered when light shines on the anode of the dye solar cell. As the name implies, the mechanism of dye solar cells is based on the photo electrochemical processes. Figure 2 depicts an energy diagram of a dye solar cell.