Effects of Various Dyes on Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells for High Percent Conversion Efficiency

Research in the field of solar cells has been going on for quite sometime, and has utilized the valuable properties of precious-rare materials; however, as such materials run out and their costs skyrocket, it will be necessary to find cheaper, more effective ways of making solar cells. The dye-sensitized solar cells are the answer to this problem, but the problem now is figuring out which dye to use. In previous experiments, various combinations of electrolytes, oxide layers and dyes have been tested, and the most effective electrolyte and oxide layer so far have been an iodide solution and a sintered TiO₂ layer respectively. Two dyes will be tested: TPA4 and N719. TPA4 is an organic dye and N719 is a Ruthenium based dye. Ruthenium based dyes have historically shown higher PCE values; therefore, the N719 dye would be expected to have the higher PCE values. Five samples have been tested thus far: two by TPA4 and three by N719. The TPA4 had the higher PCEs; however, the TiO₂ layers of the N719 samples were very cracked. Therefore, once better TiO₂ layers are achieved, higher PCEs for N719 samples should be expected according to the hypothesis. In the big picture, finding the most efficient dye would not only allow for high PCE values but also relatively low costs of production since they are organic dyes. Further research may include looking into the effects of the TiO₂ thickness and of the deposition method on the PCE values.