Improved performance of dye sensitized solar cell by exploration of photoanode and ruthenium based dye

We report two different fabrication methods (Doctors blade and Screen print) of photoanode and influence of three ruthenium based dyes (N3, N749 and Z907 and also their mixed dye) on dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). We found the increased effective surface area and lower densification in screen printed film. Rough surface of these films also improved adsorption of dyes to the photo anode film. On the other hand, mixed dye is an approach to harvest a wider range of solar lights on cells and exhibited peaks were found at 530 nm for N3 and 540 nm for Z907. Another peak at 620 nm was observed for N749 which revealed significant light absorption and photosensitization compared with the individual dye solutions. In this article, photovoltaic performances of DSSCs using these dyes and photoanodes were also evaluated and compared. The overall power conversion efficiencies of DSSCs lay in the range of 1.26-1.61%. Screen printed film with mixed dye showed the highest efficiency.

Automated summary

Two different fabrication methods (Doctors blade and Screen print) were used to prepare photoanodes, and the effects of three ruthenium based dyes (N3, N749 and Z907, as well as their mixed dye) on dye sensitized solar cells were investigated. The mixed dye showed the highest efficiency in harvesting a wider range of solar lights compared to individual dyes, leading to improved overall power conversion efficiencies of DSSCs.