Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Self-Sustaining Solar Panel Generates and Stores Power
13 June 2013POSTED IN Research
Have researchers at last found an energy storage solution for solar devices that do not have space for a bulky battery? A University of Wisconsin-Madison electrical engineer has developed a design that allows a simplex standard-size solar cell to simultaneously generate and store power, creating a self-sustaining system for small-scale applications of solar energy.
Dyesol Solar Materials Exceed PV Durability Test
28 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
Australian "clean-tech" company Dyesol Limited announced its solar-enabling technology has exceeded a key international photovoltaic industry standard test for long-term durability by 400%.
Fluorescent Organic Dye Boosts Light Absorption, Recycles Electrons in Solar Cells
16 May 2013POSTED IN Research
Adding fluorescent organic squaraine dye into polymer solar cells considerably boosts light absorption and recycles electrons, scientists at Yale University have discovered. Consequentially, power conversion efficiency (PCE) increased by 38% in the experiments.
Dyesol Acheives Breakthrough in Solid-State Dye Solar Cells
08 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
Dyesol, a leader in the commercialisation of Dye Solar Cell (DSC) technology, has achieved what it is calling a "game changing" technical breakthrough by achieving a solid-state DSC efficiency of 11.3% at full sun.
Dyesol Enters New Market with Equity Stake in Printed Power Pte
23 April 2013POSTED IN Business News
Printed batteries and sensor networks are to be integrated with energy generating Dye Solar Cell technology in products being developed by Printed Power Pte Ltd in a new venture with Dyesol Limited.
Solar Scientist Named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Energy
02 January 2013POSTED IN Research
When Trisha Andrew, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, first learned that she has been named to Forbes magazine's 30 Under 30 in Energy, she thought ‘What am I doing on this list?’ “There is a plethora of fantastic, bright scientists pushing the boundaries of how we generate, harvest and store energy,” says the talented innovator and former MIT fellow. And the Forbes editors have decided the organic chemist deserves a place in this distinguished group.
Swedish Energy Agency Finances NLAB Solar’s Factory
06 December 2012POSTED IN Business News
NLAB Solar has been granted a 60 MSEK loan by the Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten) to develop and demonstrate the industrial production of its new solar cell technology.
The financing will allow the Swedish company to construct a large production facility for its dye-sensitised solar cells (DSC) also known as Grätzel cells (pictured), after the inventor Professor Michael Grätzel.
Paintable Battery Works with Solar Cells
12 July 2012POSTED IN Research
Materials scientists at Rice University in Houston, Texas (US) have developed a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that can be painted on virtually any surface. The new fabrication technique would open the door to new design and integration possibilities for storage devices. Could Rice’s breakthrough be a leap towards hybrid devices that one day would marry paintable batteries with paintable photovoltaics?
"Star Material" Boosts Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells 25%
18 June 2012POSTED IN Research
Australian researchers say they have increased the efficiency of third-generation solar cells by at least 25%. The semiconductor in the new dye-sensitised solar cell (DSC) developed at the RMIT University in Melbourne is made from niobia instead of the traditional titania. Niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) is an inexpensive, chemically stable and environmentally friendly material. Could this metal oxide indeed be the star material solar researchers had been looking for?
Can Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer Boost Solar Cell Efficiency?
15 June 2012POSTED IN Research
Scientists at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (US), are building a new fundamental understanding of reactions in which a proton and an electron are transferred together (proton-coupled electron transfer — or PCET). Taking a second look at previously undervalued chemical reactions on the surface of metal oxides, such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, the researchers have determined these reactions could be key to more efficient solar cells.
Leaky Grätzel Cell Problem May be Solved
11 June 2012POSTED IN Research
Interdisciplinary discourse mixed with a dose of serendipity — that was the recipe for research success at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (US), where a nanoparticles expert and a chemist have created the first all-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) system that promises to exceed the performance of the Grätzel cell.
Chinese, US Researchers Collaborate on Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Carbon Nanotube Electrodes
02 May 2012POSTED IN Research
In a collaborative research project between Rice University, Houston, Texas (US), and Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, scientists hope to create better performing, cheaper and more robust dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) by replacing expensive platinum with carbon nanotubes and iodine electrolyte with sulfide-based electrolyte.
Dye-Sensitised Cell PV Market Poised for Growth
23 April 2012POSTED IN Business News
Industry analyst firm NanoMarkets announces the release of its latest report on the dye-sensitised cell (DSC) market entitled "Markets for Dye-Sensitised Cell Photovoltaics 2012."
Student Invents Biodegradable Protein-Incorporated Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell
17 April 2012POSTED IN Research
A doctoral student in chemistry at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas (US) has created the first-ever environmentally friendly dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), incorporating a protein extracted from a bacterium called Mycobacterium smegmatis.
Carbon Nanotube Thin Film Could Drive Down Cost of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
08 April 2012POSTED IN Research
Researchers at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore may have found a way to reduce the cost of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) by replacing indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes with a thin film of carbon nanotubes. The scientists believe this could lead to the emergence of truly flexible solar cells.
Dyesol Technology Drives Large DSC Panel Development
21 March 2012POSTED IN New Products
Dyesol Inc. announced today the assembly of prototype dye-sensitised solar cell (DSC) solar panels exceeding 1.20 metres × 60 centimetres (~4 feet × ~2 feet) in size, which represents one of the largest continuous-substrate, single-circuit, series-connected DSC devices made to-date.
Dye Solar Cells Turn Windows into Power Plants
20 March 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Next-generation Dye Solar Cell (DSC) windows being showcased at the Human Resource Development Centre of the Seoul City Government in South Korea demonstrate that – not only can DSC applications turn buildings into power plants – they also create enormous opportunities for architects to design clean energy generating buildings that are at the cutting edge in style.
Michael Grätzel Wins 2012 Albert Einstein Award
29 February 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Michael Grätzel, the inventor and developer of Grätzel Cell, a dye-sensitised solar cell (DSC), that is regarded by many as the single most important breakthrough in the development of sustainable energy, has been awarded the 2012 Albert Einstein World Award of Science.
EU Project Aims to Increase Solar Use
10 February 2012POSTED IN Business News
The partners in ENIAC (European Nanoelectronics Initiative Council), a publicly funded EU project to improve the solar-energy supply chain, today announced details of the multinational/multidisciplinary program, Energy for a Green Society (ERG). This three-year ENIAC Joint Undertaking project aims to achieve substantial advances in the solar-energy supply chain, from sustainable harvesting to smart distribution. These advances include pushing solar-cell efficiency towards 25% and reducing power conversion losses by 20%.
Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Reach 12.3% Efficiency
09 November 2011POSTED IN Research
Researchers led by Michael Grätzel from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have developed a new design for dye-sensitized solar cells, bringing the devices closer to the efficiency of standard silicon-based solar cells.
