Electrolyte improves dye-sensitised solar cells

Drawing their inspiration from photosynthesis, dye-sensitised solar cells are said to offer the promise of low-cost solar photovoltaics and – when coupled with catalysts – present the possibility of generating hydrogen and oxygen.

The team - including KTH’s James Gardner, assistant Professor of Photoelectrochemistry, Lars Kloo, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and researcher Muthuraaman Bhagavathi Achari - reported the success of a new quasi-liquid, polymer-based electrolyte that increases a dye-sensitised solar cell’s voltage and current, and lowers resistance between its electrodes. 

The study is claimed to highlight the advantages of speeding up the movement of oxidised electrolytes in a dye-sensitised solar cell (DSSC). Their research was published in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics on August 19.

‘We now have clear evidence that by adding the ion-conducting polymer to the solar cell’s cobalt redox electrolyte, the transport of oxidised electrolytes is greatly enhanced,’ Gardner said in a statement. ‘The fast transport increases solar cell efficiency by 20 per cent.’