Water‐Based Electrolytes for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

Stable and efficient dye‐sensitized solar cells based on water‐containing electrolytes are shown. For water contents up to 40%, no decrease in efficiency is seen. The cells are demonstrated to be stable for long periods of continuous illumination.This work lays a foundation for the further development of water‐based cells for commercial production.

Review—Single-Walled Carbon Nanohorn-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

“…The long-term stability is especially critical for DSSCs using liquid-based electrolytes due to I 3 − -induced corrosion at the electrode contacts, on one hand, and solvent solidification and evaporation at low and elevated temperatures, on the other hand. 112,113 Therefore, novel approaches for preparing iodine-free and solid-state electrolytes featuring excellent ionic diffusivity and thermal stability are highly desired for highly efficient and long-term stable solid-state DSSCs (ssDSSC).…”

Dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cell on plasmonic Ag/AgCl @ chiral TiO 2 nanofibers for treatment of urban wastewater effluents, with simultaneous production of hydrogen and electricity

“…In general, water is believed to cause a loss of activity in the DSSCs [52,53]. For the particular case of N719 dye, since the redox potential of ROS/H 2 O (~ 2.85 V vs. NHE) [32] is higher than that of N719/sensitized N719 (~1.0 V vs. NHE) [37] it is conceivable that the leached dye could be oxidized by ROS after the total consumption of TOC from the wastewater.…”

“…Therefore, a more stable performance of the photoanodes can be anticipated if the cell is operated with a continuous flow of fresh wastewater. Further research efforts should be directed towards the production of more stable dyes for use in water-based DSSCs including the use of electrolyte additives (such as ionic surfactants) [54][55][56] and the use of hydrophobic dye sensitizers [52].…”

In-Situ Probing of H2O Effects on a Ru-Complex Adsorbed on TiO2 Using Ambient Pressure Photoelectron Spectroscopy

“…The performance of purely water-based solar cells is however generally lower than state-of-the-art organic solvent electrolyte-based devices. The presence of water has a direct effect on the current-voltage characteristic of DSCs [5,6]. Water has also been shown to accelerate device degradation and cause desorption of the dye molecules [7].…”

“…Even when an organic solvent is used, traces of water may still be present (as an impurity) and importantly, water often leaks into the device during long-term use. Introducing hydrophobic chains on the dye helps to alleviate these problems, but yet challenges still remain [5,8]. A molecular-level understanding of the effect of water on the functional interface would greatly aid the development of efficient water-based DSCs but is still missing.…”