Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell for Indoor Applications: A Mini-Review

Abstract

Lightweight computing technologies such as the Internet of Things and flexible wearable systems have penetrated our everyday lives exponentially in recent years. Without a question, the running of such electronic devices is a major energy problem. Generally, these devices need power within the range of microwatts and operate mostly indoors. Thus, it is appropriate to have a self-sustainable power source, such as the photovoltaic (PV) cell, which can harvest indoor light. Among other PV cells, the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has immense capacity to satisfy the energy demands of most indoor electronics, making it a very attractive power candidates because of its many benefits such as readily available materials, relatively cheap manufacturing methods, roll-to-roll compatibility, easy processing capabilities on flexible substrates and exceptional diffuse/low-light performance. This review discusses the recent developments in DSSC materials for its indoor applications. Ultimately, the perspective on this topic is presented after summing up the current progress of the research. Graphic abstract

Development of a Self-Sufficient LoRaWAN Sensor Node with Flexible and Glass Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Modules Harvesting Energy from Diffuse Low-Intensity Solar Radiation

“…In all the application contexts where no direct sunlight is available, good candidates for solar energy harvesting appear to be DSSCs. Indeed, some works have already proven their efficiency in these operating conditions [17][18][19]. For this reason, DSSCs may represent the best option as power sources for energy self-sufficient wireless data acquisition platforms.…”

PEDOT-Carbon Nanotube Counter Electrodes and Bipyridine Cobalt (II/III) Mediators as Universally Compatible Components in Bio-Sensitized Solar Cells Using Photosystem I and Bacteriorhodopsin

“…BSSCs consist of a biological pigment immobilized on a semiconductor photoanode, connected to a cathode through a redox system solution and a supporting electrolyte, as illustrated in Figure 2 A [ 5 ]. The conventional architecture of a BSSC consists of five primary components ( Figure 2 ): ( i ) a photosensitive biological dye, ( ii ) a transparent photoanode, ( iii ) a semiconductor coating on the photoanode, ( iv ) a redox electrolyte for dye regeneration, and finally, ( v ) a counter electrode [ 16 , 26 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. After photonic excitation, the dye molecules are excited from their ground state to a higher energy state, and the electrons are promoted from the HOMO orbital to the LUMO orbital, generating electron–hole pairs [ 41 , 42 ].…”

“…The conventional architecture of a BSSC consists of five primary components ( Figure 2 ): ( i ) a photosensitive biological dye, ( ii ) a transparent photoanode, ( iii ) a semiconductor coating on the photoanode, ( iv ) a redox electrolyte for dye regeneration, and finally, ( v ) a counter electrode [ 16 , 26 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. After photonic excitation, the dye molecules are excited from their ground state to a higher energy state, and the electrons are promoted from the HOMO orbital to the LUMO orbital, generating electron–hole pairs [ 41 , 42 ]. Then, effective charge separation is achieved by the oxidation of the excited sensitizer molecule, and the generated electron is injected to the conduction band of the semiconductor on the photoanode, and the hole remains behind in the oxidized dye molecule [ 7 ].…”

A small-sized DSSC panel based on the Uruguayan national flower dye tested at the Antarctic Artigas Base

“…However, DSSC still offers two huge advantages: they remain functional even under diffuse light and are transparent to be used as power-generating building blocks [8]. And recently, efforts devoted to designing and optimising specific DSSC modules for indoor applications have been reported [18][19][20].…”