Dye-sensitized solar cells: a successful combination of materials

Dye-sensitized TiO2 solar cells, DSSC, are a promising alternative for the development of a new generation of photovoltaic devices. DSSC are a successful combination of materials, consisting of a transparent electrode coated with a dye-sensitized mesoporous film of nanocrystalline particles of TiO2, an electrolyte containing a suitable redox-couple and a Pt coated counter-electrode. In general, Ru bipyridyl complexes are used as the dye sensitizers. The light-to-energy conversion performance of the cell depends on the relative energy levels of the semiconductor and dye and on the kinetics of the electron-transfer processes at the sensitized semiconductor | electrolyte interface. The rate of these processes depends on the properties of its components. This contribution presents a discussion on the influence of each of the materials which constitute the DSSC of the overall process for energy conversion. An overview of the results obtained for solid-state dye-sensitized TiO2 solar cells assembled with polymer electrolytes is also presented.