Issue 30, 2015

Recent progress in organic sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are fabricated using low-cost materials and a simple fabrication process; these advantages make them attractive candidates for research on next generation solar cells. In this type of solar cell, dye-sensitized metal oxide electrodes play an important role for achieving high performance since the porous metal oxide films provide large specific surface area for dye loading and the dye molecule possesses broad absorption covering the visible region or even part of the near-infrared (NIR). Recently, metal-free sensitizers have made great progress and become the most potential alternatives. This review mainly focuses on recent progress in metal-free sensitizers for applications in DSSCs. Besides, we also briefly report DSSCs with near-infrared (NIR) organic sensitizers, which provide the possibility to extend the absorption threshold of the sensitizers in the NIR region. Finally, special consideration has been paid to panchromatic engineering, co-sensitization, a key technique to achieve whole light absorption for improving the performance of DSSCs.

Graphical abstract: Recent progress in organic sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells

  • This article is part of the themed collection: Solar energy

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
16 Dec 2014
Accepted
20 Feb 2015
First published
20 Feb 2015

RSC Adv., 2015,5, 23810-23825

Recent progress in organic sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells

C. Lee, R. Y. Lin, L. Lin, C. Li, T. Chu, S. Sun, J. T. Lin and K. Ho, RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 23810 DOI: 10.1039/C4RA16493H

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