Study on Nature-inspired Fractal Design-based Flexible Counter Electrodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Fabricated using Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) are third generation solar cells used as an alternative to traditional silicon solar cells. DSSCs are characterized by their durability, easy handling and ability to perform better under diverse lighting conditions which makes them an ideal choice for indoor applications. However, DSSCs suffer from several limitations including low efficiencies, susceptibility to electrolyte leakage under extreme weather conditions, and the need for expensive materials and fabrication techniques which limits their large-scale industrial applications. Addressing these limitations through efficient design and manufacturing techniques are critical in ensuring that the DSSCs transform from the current small-scale laboratory levels to sizeable industrial production. This research attempts to address some of these significant limitations by introducing the concepts of nature-inspired fractal-based design followed by the additive manufacturing process to fabricate cost-effective, flexible counter electrodes for DSSCs. The new conceptual fractal-based design counter electrodes overcome the limitations of conventional planar designs by significantly increasing the number of active reaction sites which enhances the catalytic activity thereby improving the performance. The fabrication of these innovative fractal designs is realized through cost-effective manufacturing techniques including additive manufacturing and selective electrochemical co-deposition processes. The results of the study suggest that the fractal-based counter electrodes perform better than conventional designs. Additionally, the fractal designs and additive manufacturing technology help in addressing the problems of electrolyte leakage, cost of fabrication, and scalability of DSSCs.

Flexible biodegradable transparent heaters based on fractal-like leaf skeletons

“…Assuming that c, ρ, and h are approximately constants, it can be seen that the response time of the heater can be made faster simply by increasing its surface to volume ratio; a property that fractal-like structures excel at. The fractal-like architecture is known to provide the optimal surface coverage, high-surface area, and minimum in-plane resistance 34,35 . Secondly, according to (2), the steady-state temperature T t!1 ¼ U 2…”

“…The hierarchical architectures present in the natural materials can serve as guides to solve the restrictions of the materials and engineering techniques 33 . Recently, nature-inspired fractal-like structures have been integrated into engineering applications 34,35 . These applications include solar cells 35 , antenna design 36 , tissue engineering 37 , optoelectronics 38 , and heat transfer 39 .…”

“…Recently, nature-inspired fractal-like structures have been integrated into engineering applications 34,35 . These applications include solar cells 35 , antenna design 36 , tissue engineering 37 , optoelectronics 38 , and heat transfer 39 . Mathematically, fractals are structures that appear similar at all length-scales and fractal-like structures can be found in nature in abundance.…”

Plant‐Based Biodegradable Capacitive Tactile Pressure Sensor Using Flexible and Transparent Leaf Skeletons as Electrodes and Flower Petal as Dielectric Layer

“…[ 30 ] The interconnected fractal design displayed by the leaf skeleton is advantageous here because, for engineering structures, these are known to provide better stability, optimal surface coverage, and facilitate the efficient distribution of thermal and electrical energy. [ 31,32 ] Due to its network‐like architecture, the electrode was transparent (≈60–75%) at wavelengths ranging from 400 to 900 nm. The electrode had a very low sheet resistance, ranging from 975 down to ≈4 Ω sq −1 , depending on the Ag NW loading.…”

Influence of Co-Sputtered Ag:Al Ultra-Thin Layers in Transparent V2O5/Ag:Al/AZO Hole-Selective Electrodes for Silicon Solar Cells

“…However due to its high-temperature processing, brittle nature, increasing cost due to the scarcity of indium and disadvantages in the terms of production [12,13], a continuous effort is being done in order to find suitable indium-free alternatives to ITO. Metallic nanowire networks, carbon nanotubes, conductive polymers, graphene, and ultra-thin metallic films [14][15][16][17][18] are some of the alternatives to potentially reduce the production cost in the photovoltaic (PV) industry. Recently, dielectric-metal-dielectric (DMD) structures have emerged as valid candidates to substitute the ITO electrode in silicon solar cells.…”