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Toward Eco-Friendly Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs): Natural Dyes and Aqueous Electrolytes

Author

Listed:
  • Ji-Hye Kim

    (Department of New Energy Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, 232 Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01811, Korea)

  • Dong-Hyuk Kim

    (Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, 232 Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01811, Korea)

  • Ju-Hee So

    (Material & Component Convergence R&D Department, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Ansan 15588, Korea)

  • Hyung-Jun Koo

    (Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, 232 Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01811, Korea)

Abstract

Due to their low cost, facile fabrication, and high-power conversion efficiency (PCE), dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted much attention. Ruthenium (Ru) complex dyes and organic solvent-based electrolytes are typically used in high-efficiency DSSCs. However, Ru dyes are expensive and require a complex synthesis process. Organic solvents are toxic, environmentally hazardous, and explosive, and can cause leakage problems due to their low surface tension. This review summarizes and discusses previous works to replace them with natural dyes and water-based electrolytes to fabricate low-cost, safe, biocompatible, and environmentally friendly DSSCs. Although the performance of “eco-friendly DSSCs” remains less than 1%, continuous efforts to improve the PCE can accelerate the development of more practical devices, such as designing novel redox couples and photosensitizers, interfacial engineering of photoanodes and electrolytes, and biomimetic approaches inspired by natural systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Ji-Hye Kim & Dong-Hyuk Kim & Ju-Hee So & Hyung-Jun Koo, 2021. "Toward Eco-Friendly Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs): Natural Dyes and Aqueous Electrolytes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2021:i:1:p:219-:d:713859
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    Cited by:

    1. Giovanni Landi & Sergio Pagano & Heinz Christoph Neitzert & Costantino Mauro & Carlo Barone, 2023. "Noise Spectroscopy: A Tool to Understand the Physics of Solar Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-37, January.

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