Recent advances in eco-friendly and cost-effective materials towards sustainable dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Main DSSC components, along with their most critical materials and related issues are reviewed and feasible alternatives are envisaged.

Hydrogel Electrolytes Based on Xanthan Gum: Green Route towards Stable Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

“…Bearing in mind the idea to investigate the feasibility of stable, but sustainable solar cells with safe and truly nontoxic components, we decided to focus our efforts on low-cost, abundant bio-derived polymers and critical raw material (CRM)-free redox couples as attractive and feasible alternatives to common organic electrolyte redox mediators [33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. In this context, we employed a standard Pt-based counter-electrode, but a further improvement in the sustainability of aqueous DSSCs should consider the development of alternative counter-electrodes [40][41][42]. Following our preliminary results on the use of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a biopolymer matrix for aqueous electrolytes [34], here we propose a different bioderived polymer, namely the xanthan gum (XG).…”

Preparation and Property Studies of Polyaniline Film for Flexible Counter Electrode of Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells by Cyclic Voltammetry

“…Specifically, solar cell is a powerful device that can convert the sunlight into electricity power. Dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been widely studied as the novel generation photovoltaic devices due to their great advantages of feasibility, high efficiency, low cost, and so on [2‐10] . Using and the cobalt liquid electrolyte, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) can reach up to 12.4 % and 14 %, respectively [11,12] .…”

“…Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been widely studied as the novel generation photovoltaic devices due to their great advantages of feasibility, high efficiency, low cost, and so on. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Using I À =I À 3 and the cobalt liquid electrolyte, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) can reach up to 12.4 % and 14 %, respectively. [11,12] Although numerous improvements on DSSCs have been reported, their performance and the high cost still limit their practical applications.…”

Cu2ZnSnS4, a Fascinating Counter Electrode for TiO2‐Free Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

“…However, the technological challenge is to utilize the full solar spectrum by using new materials to achieve the maximum PCE. Dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) appear as a reliable alternative among other photovoltaic devices consists of a simple photoelectrochemical device set up using low‐cost materials [2] . A DSSC is, in essence, a photochemical cell which contains two electrodes and an electrolyte and generates electrical current by redox reactions.…”

“…A DSSC is, in essence, a photochemical cell which contains two electrodes and an electrolyte and generates electrical current by redox reactions. The TiO 2 and Pt are considered the best‐suited device material to exhibit higher PCE and set up a traditional device set‐up using those materials in DSSCs [2,3] . In order to enhance the performance and find out a suitable alternative, significant efforts have been accomplished in improving the TiO 2 ‐Pt, which acts as a framework for DSSCs.…”