Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Photoelectrode Fabrication and Modification by Atomic Layer Deposition

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are a class of photoelectrochemical devices with exceptional potential for low-cost, scalable solar energy conversion. The ~10-um-thick sintered nanoparticle film that often comprises the photoelectrode is utilized to chemically bind ~1017 chromophores with monolayer coverage. Although this ingenious architecture allows DSSCs to achieve power conversion efficiencies of 12%, it is the chief obstacle to further advances in the field. Alternative photoelectrode designs attainable by atomic layer deposition (ALD) have opened new routes to efficiency improvement. Ultra-thin interfacial layers grown by ALD have also been utilized to tailor the properties of the large, heterogeneous junction universal to DSSCs