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A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO2 films

Nature volume 353, pages 737–740 (1991)Cite this article

Abstract

THE large-scale use of photovoltaic devices for electricity generation is prohibitively expensive at present: generation from existing commercial devices costs about ten times more than conventional methods1. Here we describe a photovoltaic cell, created from low-to medium-purity materials through low-cost processes, which exhibits a commercially realistic energy-conversion efficiency. The device is based on a 10-µm-thick, optically transparent film of titanium dioxide particles a few nanometres in size, coated with a monolayer of a charge-transfer dye to sensitize the film for light harvesting. Because of the high surface area of the semiconductor film and the ideal spectral characteristics of the dye, the device harvests a high proportion of the incident solar energy flux (46%) and shows exceptionally high efficiencies for the conversion of incident photons to electrical current (more than 80%). The overall light-to-electric energy conversion yield is 7.1-7.9% in simulated solar light and 12% in diffuse daylight. The large current densities (greater than 12 mA cm-2) and exceptional stability (sustaining at least five million turnovers without decomposition), as well as the low cost, make practical applications feasible.

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Author notes

  1. Brian O'Regan

    Present address: Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Physical Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland

    Brian O'Regan & Michael Grätzel

Authors
  1. Brian O'Regan
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  2. Michael Grätzel
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O'Regan, B., Grätzel, M. A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO2 films. Nature 353, 737–740 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/353737a0

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