A two-dimensional transient model of dye solar cells (DSC) describing the electrochemical reactions in the cell has been prepared. The model includes the relevant components of DSCs: the photoelectrode, the electrolyte, and the counter electrode. The solved variables are potential and the concentrations of the dierent ion species, which can be used to determine e.g. the current-voltage characteristics of the cell. The largest benet of this model is its 2D features which enable the study of lateral inhomogeneity. Using the model, a new phenomenon was described: lateral current density distribution caused by a small dierence in the size between photoelectrode and counter electrode, typical to laboratory test cells, causes tri-iodide to move from the edge region to the active area of the cell. This process takes relatively long time (8 min) and can be important for performance characterization and design of DSCs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.