Investigation of UV Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Water Electrolyte: A New Insight for Wavelength-Selective Greenhouse

The optimization of the photoactive electrode based on TiO<sub>2</sub> with a complex architecture for UV dyes along with water-based electrolyte has successfully allowed us (i) to obtain a photovoltaic efficiency of the dye-sensitized solar cell with 1.45 times higher than the best effi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Daiana Albulescu, Daniel Ursu, Lucian-Mircea Rusnac, Sabina Nitu, Marinela Miclau, Melinda Vajda
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-01-01
Series:Crystals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/12/1/98
Description
Summary:The optimization of the photoactive electrode based on TiO<sub>2</sub> with a complex architecture for UV dyes along with water-based electrolyte has successfully allowed us (i) to obtain a photovoltaic efficiency of the dye-sensitized solar cell with 1.45 times higher than the best efficiency reported for synthetic dye and 3 times for curcumin dye so far; (ii) transparency on the entire Photosynthetic Active Radiation domain; (iii) preserving high efficiency for lighting 1 sun (summer) and shading, especially for 60 mW/cm<sup>2</sup>, which represents the maximum illumination in the rest of the seasons. Our water-based dye-sensitized solar cells loaded with synthetic and natural UV dyes have revealed that the implementation of a dye-sensitized solar cell in autonomous greenhouses is a viable and inexpensive concept.
ISSN:2073-4352