A Review on the Impacts of Materials on the Efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

In the pursuit of clean and renewable energy sources, the third-generation photovoltaic cells known as Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) have been forecasted as a potential solution for future applications. In comparison to thin film solar cells, it is comparatively simple, low cost, lightweight, flexible, highly efficient with high-throughput synthesis for harvesting solar energy. However, it suffers several challenges including light absorption, charge transferring, dye degradation and stability issues. The DSSC, though invented in 1988, is still at the stage of development and there exist several areas open for improvement in its current technology. As the function of devices basically depends upon their constituents, the improvement of DSSC over the past years strongly depends upon modification of the involved materials. This paper is dedicated to providing a comprehensive overview on the efforts reported by researchers worldwide in order to modify Counter Electrodes (CEs), electrolyte, dye and semiconducting photo electrode used in DSSC.