Significant advancement in dye-sensitized solar cells achieved
Researchers in South Korea have suggested a new approach to creating cost-effective and more efficient dye-sensitized solar cells, which will mean significant advancement in the thin-film market. So far in the development of this thin-film technique, researchers have faced one major setback; the efficiency of the cells has been half that of the more commonly used silicon-based cells. However, this new approach will improve the power consumption rates of dye-sensitized solar cells by at least 50%. Park Nam-gyu, a researcher from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), said his team has discovered a breakthrough method, which enables a sequential bonding of dyes in the thin, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) layers used in dye-sensitized solar cells. Park said, ''In the existing prototypes, the TiO 2 films bond with just one kind of dye, and developing techniques to allow the films to absorb dyes of different colours, thus allowing the solar cell to absorb and use a broade...