Issue 26, 2018

Near infrared harvesting dye-sensitized solar cells enabled by rare-earth upconversion materials

Abstract

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been deemed as promising alternatives to silicon solar cells for the conversion of clean sunlight energy into electricity. A major limitation to their conversion efficiency is their inability to utilize light in the infrared (IR) spectral range, which constitutes almost half the energy of the sun's radiation. This fact has elicited motivations and endeavors to extend the response wavelength of DSSCs to the IR range. Photon upconversion through rare-earth ions constitutes one of the most promising approaches toward the goal of converting near-IR (NIR) or IR light into visible or ultraviolet light, where DSSCs typically have high sensitivity. In the present review, we summarize recent progress based on the utilization of various upconversion materials and device structures to improve the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells.

Graphical abstract: Near infrared harvesting dye-sensitized solar cells enabled by rare-earth upconversion materials

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
27 11 2017
Accepted
12 1 2018
First published
12 1 2018

Dalton Trans., 2018,47, 8526-8537

Near infrared harvesting dye-sensitized solar cells enabled by rare-earth upconversion materials

D. Li, H. Ågren and G. Chen, Dalton Trans., 2018, 47, 8526 DOI: 10.1039/C7DT04461E

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