Enhancing the Efficiency of PMMA-Based Quasi-Solid Electrolyte Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells by Ozone Treatment of TiO₂ Thin Films

Abstract

A quasi-solid electrolyte dye-sensitized solar cell (QSDSSC) was fabricated, which used an environment-friendly organic MK2 dye. The quasi-solid electrolyte was fabricated based on I -/I3redox couple and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) polymer. Ozone treatment technique has been utilized to clean and improve the hydrophilicity of TiO � thin films, as a result, its dye-adsorption capacity was enhanced. Experimental results with a solar simulator showed that 40 % improvement of the conversion efficiency was obtained with the QSDSSCs fabricated with the photoanodes undergone the ozone treatment compared with the QSDSSCs fabricated with the photoanodes without the ozone treatment. Furthermore, we also conducted a stability test on the QSDSSCs fabricated with the ozone-treated photoanodes to study the stability of the organic MK2 dye and the PMMA-based gel electrolyte.

Enhancing DSSC conversion efficiency by ozone-treated TiO2 photoanode and optimum CNT/PDDA counter electrode

“…Almost no crack was observed on the surface. It has been proved that multilayer EPD method could significantly improve the quality of thin films [24][25][26]. Figure 6 shows the photo images of the dyed photoanodes with and without ozone treatment.…”

Mesoporous SiO₂@TiO₂ Core Shell Spheres for Light Scattering Layer in the Photoande of a Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell

“…The procedure for fabricating a photoanode having a light scattering layer made of MP-SiO2@TiO2 particles is as follows. The active layer composed of fine particles (P25, JAPAN AEROJIL) was produced by an electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method [5], and the scattering layer composed of submicron particles was produced by a spin-coating method [6].…”

Effectiveness of Light Scattering Layer Using Mesoporous SiO2‐TiO2 Core‐Shell on Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

“…FTO glass was used as the substrate of the photoanodes. The active layer was created by electrodeposition using commercial TiO 2 nanoparticles (P25) [1]. The electrodeposition solution was prepared by dispersing 0.2 g P25 to 40 ml ethanol for 24 h. After electrodeposition, the P25 thin film was annealed at 500 • C for 1 h. Moreover, the scattering layer was formed on the active layer by the spin coating method.…”

“…To operate these IoT devices without external power sources, it is necessary to find energy sources that can provide power in an indoor environment. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) attract attention because DSSCs are inexpensive and relatively easy to produce [1]. In addition, they are expected to be used for power generation in low-light indoor environments [2].…”