染料敏化太阳能电池组装

1、Dye Solar Cell Assembly1. Glass handlingTransparent conducting oxide glass (TCO glass) should not be touched with bare fingers. If fingerprints or other contamination are present, clean with ethanol and dry with a hair-dryer.Note:The hazy side, i.e. the one that feels like sticky when passing gently

2、 withthe fingernail, is the conducting side for the SnO2 glasses.2. Scotch tape printing of nanocrystalline TiO2 pastesStir well the nanocrystalline TiO2 pastes before use, not shake unless bubbles could be formed.The thickness of the adhesive tape will determine the thickness of the titanium oxide

3、deposited on the glass. We use Scotch Magic tape from 3M, having a thickness of ca. 50 mm. This tape can be easily removed from the glass without leaving traces of adhesive materials.areTheforIn order to achieve a electrode thickness of ca. 8 mm, two layers of tape required, although this will depen

4、d on the paste concentration used. transparent pastes (Ti-Nanoxide T or Ti-Nanoxide HT) are made to give a layer of 2-3 mm for a single layer of tape.When using two layers of tape, care must be taken that the dried titanium oxide will not peel off. So a slow dry-out of the solvent and a progressive

5、heating is necessary to ensure optimal adhesion of the titanium oxide layer onto the TCO glass.The deposition process itself consists of spreading out a given volume, of ca. 10ml/cm2 of titanium oxide paste with a rigid squeegee. A good squeegee is, example, a microscope slide, preferably with polis

6、hed edges. A glass rod could also do the job.Let dry electrode or gently dry it with a hair-dryer till the solvent is evaporated. Withthe Ti-Nanoxide D paste, the electrode turns white or slightly translucent upon drying and with a Ti-Nanoxide T or Ti-Nanoxide HT paste it turns transparent. Importan

7、t: There should be no signs of peeling off. Look also on the back side of the glass electrode and check if there are no air bubbles visible.Once the titanium oxide has been dried, then remove gently the adhesive tapes.Avoid touching the fresh titanium oxide electrode.An alternate to squeegee printin

8、g is the far more reproducible screen-printing: the nanocristalline titanium oxide pastes Ti-Nanoxide D/SP , Ti-Nanoxide T/SP and Ti-Nanoxide HT/SP are specially formulated for screen-printing using polyester meshes of 27 wires/inch to 43 wires/inch typically, to give ca 8 to 16 micron thick nanocri

9、stalline TiO2 layers once sintered.3. Sintering processto melt partiallyThe sintering process allows the titanium oxide nanocrystalstogether , in order to ensure electrical contact and mechanical adhesion on the glass.Good resultshave been obtainedwhenusing a hot air blowerto heat up theelectrode to

10、 ca. 450C forabout half an hour. A heating plate works also fine.While heatingup (e.g. rate: 100 C/min)the electrode,first turns brownish(sometimesit releases fumes),and later it turns yellowish-whitedue to thetemperature dependent band-gap narrowing in the pure titanium oxide (anatase).C to ca. 60-

11、80Cin 3This is the sign that the sintering process is completed and the cooling rate is chosen to avoid cracking of the glass. (e.g. cool down from 450 minutes).If you want to use the electrode immediately for the sensitizer impregnation, keep the electrode at ca. 70C, to avoid water absorption thro

12、ugh capillary effects.C for 30To sinter screen-printed electrodes, first they must be dried at 100-120 min prior firing at 450-480C for 30 min.4. Sensitizer impregnationThe sensitizer Ruthenium 535 must be dissolved in pure ethanol in a concentrationof 20 mg of dye per 100 ml of solution.Put slowly

13、the sintered electrode, heated at ca. 70C into the sensitizer solution, itsface-up. When impregnating large electrodes put them really gently and slowly into the, usually cold, sensitizer solution, in order to avoid cracking of the glass.The impregnation process can be done at room temperature, then

14、 it will take ca 5 to10 hours, depending on the actual titanium oxide layer thickness. So let the electrode impregnate overnight to be sure.The process can be accelerated when heating the sensitizer solution to ca. 80C (orreflux), so it will take only 1 to 2 hours.A properly impregnated electrode sh

15、ows no white areas at all ! Especially look on the back side of the glass.Caution: NO WATER SHOULD ENTER SENSITIZER SOLUTIONA sensitizer solution containing water looks orange and not anymore wine-red.Small amount of water , e.g. from ambient humidity, is not critical.Caution: NO WATER SHOULD CONTAC

16、T THE IMPREGNATED ELECTRODES, OTHERWISE THE ELECTRODE IS USELESS.Alkaline or neutral water desorbs instantaneously the sensitizer from the titanium oxide layer!Once stained electrodes are sensitive to ambient humidity - they turn orange colored after several weeks of ambient exposure. Such an orange

17、 colored electrodecannot work properly.Please note:Do not breath Ruthenium 535 sensitizer dust and avoid swallowing535of sensitizer . Ruthenium 535 is not a fully tested substance.The TiO2 electrode impregnation procedure with the sensitizer Ruthenium bis-TBA is identical to the one with Ruthenium 5

18、35.Please note:Do not breath Ruthenium 535 bis-TBA sensitizer dust and avoidswallowing of sensitizer. Ruthenium 535 bis-TBA is not a fully tested substance.5. Platinization of counter-electrodeThe platinium catalyst is obtained by using the Pt-Catalyst T/SP product which can either be squeegee print

19、ed or screen-printed using a polyester mesh of 90. Dry at 100 C for 10 min prior firing at 400C for 30min.The platinum deposit is practically invisible, thus be careful not to mix up the not yet platinized TCO glasses with the already platinized ones !Note:The missing of platinum on the counter-elec

20、trode of the Dye Solar Cell willcause malfunction.6.Cleaning of electrodesa) Working electrode (titanium oxide impregnated sensitizer):with Ruthenium535Rinse with absolute ethanol and dry with hair-dryerRemember: Never use water or water based cleaning solutions !b)Counter-electrode (TCO glass with

21、platinum catalyst):Rinse either with distilled water or use ethanol and dry with hair-dryer7. Assembling the Dye Solar CellAssemble cell as soon as the electrodes have been prepared. Long storage electrodes is detrimental.ofIf the cell is filled with Iodolyte TG-50, then Amosil 4 is appropriate as a

22、 sealing material.If the cell is filled with Iodolyte AN-50 or Iodolyte PN-50, then the hot-melt sheets SX 1170-25 (25 micron thickness) or SX 1170-60 (60 micron thickness) should be used as sealing frame.To use the Amosil 4 sealant, mix well together a portion made of 45 % in weight of hardener (la

23、belled as H or D) and of 55 % in weight of resin (labelled as R).Place the working electrode and the counter-electrode glass plates as shown in the cross-section scheme below:Cross-section of assembled dye solar cell showing sealing rimDeposit Amosil 4 (mixed R + H) along the edges, be careful not t

24、o deposit too much sealant as it could penetrate too much into the electrodes. The sealant rim should be ca. 2 mm wide.Provide contact areas ca. 5-6 mm wide. Silver contact areas once sealing is cured.Cure at 60-70Cfor 3 hours or at room temperature for 24 hours.To use SX 1170-25 or SX 1170-60, cut

25、out gaskets or strips forming the sealingwith aframe to be deposited on top of one of the glass electrodes.Apply heathot-press or a soldering iron while pressing both electrodes together till the SX 1170materials melts (at ca 100-120C) - thus forming the seal.8.Filling cell with Iodolyte electrolyte

26、In cells having a sealing rim with two small holes, the filling is done by putting a droplet onto only one hole, and let it soak up. Replenish droplet from time to time to avoid dry-out and bubble formation.For long shaped cells, this process can take ca. 10 minutes and maybe some small bubbles are

27、still left (these are not critical to cell operation).9.Sealing filling plugsWipe off excess electrolyte from filling ports. Clean carefully the area around the filling holes with acetone (usually electrolytes are more soluble in acetone than in alcohol), so that no traces are anymore visible. The r

28、eflection of a light source shows pretty well if the glass is clean or not.Put a droplet of Amosil 4 onto the filling hole and let dry at room temperature for 24 hours. Do not heat the cell unless electrolyte expansion will push out the Amosil sealant.When using Iodolyte AN-50 or Iodolyte PN-50 the

29、filling holes have be sealed with SX 1170-25 or SX 1170-60. Use a small square cut-out of SX 1170, put it on the cleaned hole, then deposit a small glass square (e.g. from microscope slide glass ca. 1 x 1 cm sized) on top of the SX 1170 square. Heat-up with hot-press or soldering iron.10. Testingens

30、urecurrentPrior testing, it is recommended to put silver paint onto the contacts to optimal electrical connections and to minimize serial resistance losses, especially when testing large cells.The typical output voltage of a dye solar cell should be in the range of 0.6 to 0.7 V in full light (1000 W

31、/m2).The short-circuit current density should be between 8 and 12 mA/cm2 for a 8 -10 mm thick fully impregnated electrode, and the should remain constant under illumination.Trouble shooting:If a dye solar cell gives zero volts under strong illumination, then following could have happened:a)Non condu

32、cting glass has been used for one of the two electrodes. - Verifyelectrical resistance of the glass plates used.b) The counter-electrode (with the platinum) has been mounted the wrong way - so the platinized part is on the outside.- verify electrical resistance of outer side of glass.If a dye solar cell gives 0.1 to 0.3 V in full light, then either the platiniztion