Rapid, low-temperature processing of dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract: Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) can be described as a form of artificial photosynthesis because light is captured in a similar manner by a chromophore. However, whilst in photosynthesis the solar energy is captured as chemical energy in bio-molecules, electricity is the product for DSCs making this an example of photovoltaic (PV) technology. One key advantage of DSCs compared to vacuum-processed, p-n junction PV technologies is the potential for it to be manufactured at a very large scale because DSC raw materials are readily available and the technology lends itself to roll-to-roll continuous processing. This chapter describes some of the existing issues associated with manufacturing DSC devices along with some of the remaining challenges to achieve the goal of very large-scale PV development.

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