Towards High Performance Indoor Dye-Sensitized Photovoltaics: A Review of Electrodes and Electrolytes Development

As the world population continues to grow, the resulting energy needs have increased, together with concerns about carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. Photovoltaic technologies (PV) including first, second, and third-generation solar cells offer a chance to easily convert the solar energy into electrical energy. This chapter explains classic and new materials in view of their physical and electrochemical characteristics for application in room light dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). It reviews the influence of the thickness of the photoelectrodes (PEs), counter electrodes (CEs) materials, concentrations of the electrolyte components, nature of the solvents, and characteristics of the dyes on the performance of the cells. A classical DSSCs consists of a dye-sensitized PE, a platinum CE, and a redox electrolyte. A compact blocking layer covers the rough surface of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) and decreases the charge transfer resistance at the FTO substrate/electrolyte interface.