Recent Developments in Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

The dye‐sensitized solar cell, developed in the 1990s, is a non‐conventional solar technology that has attracted much attention owing to its stability, low cost, and device efficiency. Power‐conversion efficiencies of over 11 % have been achieved for devices that contain liquid electrolytes, whereas solid‐state devices that do not require a liquid electrolyte display an overall efficiency of 5 %. Improvement of the efficiency of solid‐state dye‐sensitized solar cells requires optimization of their various components, such as the hole‐transport material, sensitizer, mesoporous TiO2 film, and the blocking layer. This Minireview highlights the current state of the art and future directions of solid‐state dye‐sensitized solar cell technology. A sunny outlook: Dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted much attention owing to their stability, low cost, and cell efficiency. To overcome the disadvantages of liquid electrolyte based DSSCs, solid‐state DSSCs using organic and inorganic hole‐transport materials have been investigated and good power conversion efficiencies have been observed. The current state of the art of solid‐state DSSC technology is discussed in the Minireview.