Electron migration and stability of dye solar cells

Abstract

Dye-sensitised photoelectrochemical solar cells with four different electrolyte combinations were assembled and characterised using current voltage measurements. The effects that the solvents (acetonitrile - ACN and propionitrile - PN) have on the efficiency of the cells were investigated. Two physical properties of the solvents (viscosity and permittivity) were used in this comparison. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (Nyquist and Bode plots) was used for analysis of the charge transfer processes. The different electrolyte combinations had a significant difference on the short circuit currents (ISC) 42 and 48 mA for B and A respectively while the solvents had almost no effect. The results show that the solvents have the greatest effect on the efficiencies of the cells