A bioinspired approach is applied to photoelectric conversion devices. A 3(10)-helical hexapeptide bearing a pyrene unit is immobilized on a gold-covered TiO2 surface. The device is integrated for the first time in a dye-sensitized solar cell, exhibiting stability after several measurements. The approach could have promising applications in the field of optoelectronics.

In this paper we analyze the interplay between transparency and efficiency in dye sensitized solar cells by varying fabrication parameters such as the thickness of the nano-crystalline TiO(2) layer, the dye loading and the dye type. Both transparency and efficiency show a saturation trend when plotted versus dye loading. By introducing the transparency-efficiency plot, we show that the relation between transparency and efficiency is linear and is almost independent on the TiO(2) thickness for a certain thickness range. On the contrary, the relation between transparency and efficiency depends strongly on the type of the dye. Moreover, we show that co-sensitization techniques can be effectively used to access regions of the transparency-efficiency space that are forbidden for single dye sensitization. The relation found between transparency and efficiency (T&E) can be the general guide for optimization of Dye Solar Cells in building integration applications.

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Tandem cells (or multi-junction cells) have been shown to be the most efficient architecture to achieve record performance for most photovoltaic technologies. In fact, tandem architectures allow devices to significantly broaden their overall absorbance spectra providing higher conversion efficiencies compared to individual cells. However, up to now, this has not been true for DSCs where record performances have been always obtained with single cells. This is mainly due to the difficulty of realizing integrated tandem DSC configurations where interlayer losses are minimized. Thus, we propose a new tandem architecture that overcomes the limitation presented so far by tandem DSCs, reporting an efficiency of 6.66% with wide room for improvement. Experimental results are corroborated with two-dimensional device simulations which allow us to understand the working mechanisms and to define optimization routes for this novel architecture. This work opens the way for further optimization of DSC technology, well beyond the actual limits, and also discloses ideas for new possible structures in the related fields of TiO2 tandem catalysts which are important for the realization of solar fuels and electrolyte based devices

We studied the effects of UV irradiation on encapsulated ruthenium-based dye-sensitized solar cell by means of accelerated irradiation stresses. A progressive degradation of open-circuit voltage occurs, while the short-circuit current suddenly drops during stress. The sudden degradation can easily be detected from DC measurements and it occurs when series resistance starts to increase. Electrolyte bleaching is the main effect for cell failure and it induces the degradation of TiO2/Dye/Electrolyte interface as side effect. At the end of the irradiation a complete loss of electrolyte was observed. © 2013 IEEE