Improved performance for solar cells: Highly efficient p-type dye-sensitized solar cell with cobalt-based electrolyte
Tuesday, December 4, 2012 - 07:00
in Physics & Chemistry
(Phys.org)—Photovoltaics continues to be an expensive technology. Dye-based solar cells may represent a more cost-effective alternative to traditional solar cells. In these cells, a dye is used in place of a semiconductor to trap the light. Tandem cells consisting of both a conventional n-type and an "inverse" p-type dye-sensitized solar cell seem to be especially promising. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a team of Australian and German scientists has now reported a significant increase in the degree of efficiency of p-type dye-sensitized solar cells through use of an electrolyte based on a cobalt complex.