Metal-based bracken-like single-sided dye-sensitized solar cells with horizontal separation

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Renewable Energy
• Photovoltaics

Background:

• Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) face challenges with high costs and electrical resistance from transparent conducting substrates.
• Conventional DSCs limit metal substrate integration to only one electrode.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate an all-metal-electrode single-sided DSC to overcome limitations of traditional designs.
• To explore fabrication methods for improved device performance and reduced cost.

Main Methods:

• Utilized photolithography to create interpenetrated chromium (Cr) electrodes.
• Deposited mesoporous titanium dioxide (TiO2) and platinum (Pt) films on separated electrodes.
• Investigated thermal Pt deposition and cyclic electrodeposition, optimizing spacer layers (TiO2/SiO2).

Main Results:

• Cyclic electrodeposition yielded selective Pt deposition at room temperature, enhancing device performance.
• The optimized TiO2/SiO2 spacer layer improved device characteristics.
• The best performing device achieved a current density of 8.47 mA cm(-2), an open-circuit voltage of 0.685 V, and an efficiency of 2.44%.

Conclusions:

• The all-metal-electrode DSC design shows promise for cost reduction and performance enhancement.
• Formation of a Cr oxide layer during thermal treatment created a high-resistivity blocking layer, impacting efficiency.
• Further improvements are anticipated with the development of low-temperature fabrication processes.