TITLE:
Fabrication of Dye Sensitized Solar Cell Based on Titanium Dioxide (TiO2)
AUTHORS:
Ari A. Mohammed, Alan S. Said Ahmad, Wafaa A. Azeez
KEYWORDS:
Transparent Conducting Glass, Titanium Dioxide (TIO2) Nanoparticles, Organic Dyes, Electrolyte
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Materials Physics and Chemistry,
Vol.5 No.9,
September
4,
2015
ABSTRACT: The
Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) plays an important role because of low
material cost, ease of production and high conversion efficiency as compared to
other thin-film solar cell technologies. The main objective is to create and
find the best configuration of the solar cell based on materials that are inexpensive
and highly efficient in solar energy conversion and subsequently test the efficiency
of dye sensitized titanium dioxide solar cell. We begin the process with two
glass plates coated with Fluorine tin oxide (FTO). Titanium dioxide is applied
to the conductive side of one plate and the other plate is coated with
graphite. A dye is adsorbed on to the TiO2 layer and then the plates
are sandwiched together. A drop of iodide electrolyte is then added between the
plates. The tests carried out indoors under a lamp emitting all wavelengths in
the visible spectrum were not found to provide consistent data due to
substantial heating of the cell. The outdoor tests carried out in natural
sunlight exhibited steady voltage at much higher level. Future research will involve
the incorporation of quantum dots instead of the organic dye as a sensitizer.
Quantum dots have the advantages of providing tunable band gaps and the ability
to absorb specific wavelength.