Investor LoginWhat is DSSC?
Dye sentisitized solar cells are photoelectrochemical cells that use photo-sensitization of wide-band-gap mesoporous oxide semiconductors. These cells were invented by Michael Graetzel et al.1) in 1988 and are also known as "Graetzel cells".
These cells are extremely promising because they are made of low-cost materials and do not need elaborate apparatus to manufacture. The cells have a simple structure that consists of two electrodes and an iodide-containing electrolyte. One electrode is dye-absorbed highly porous nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (nc-TiO2) deposited on a transparent electrically conducting substrate. The other is a transparent electrically conducting substrate only. The cells have been compared to photosynthesis because they use the redox reaction of the electrolyte. The energy conversion efficiency of the cells has not yet reached the level of silicon solar cells. The current energy conversion efficiency is about 10%, as was reported by Graetzel et al.
It is thought that the energy efficiency can rise beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit of 32%.
How does a dye sensitized solar cell work?
G24i’s advanced DYE SENSITIZED THIN FILM works on a very different principle than traditional polycrystalline where the absorption of light and the separation of charge carriers do not take place in the same material. The cell consists of two conducting electrodes (usually in the shape of small plates) in a sandwich configuration with a redox electrolyte separating the two. On one of the electrodes a compact, but very porous layer of TiO2 is constructed. On the particles of TiO2 a dye is absorbed.
When light falls onto the dye sensitized solar cell it is absorbed by the dye. The electrons that are excited, due to the extra energy the light provides, can escape from the dye and into the TiO2 and diffuse through the TiO2 to the electrode. They are eventually returned to the dye through the electrolyte.
The dye sensitized cell is made from lower cost materials than the conventional type with silicon wafers. TiO2 is a very common material (also used in toothpaste and sun lotion) and the dye can be an organic type like the colouring you find in blackberries.
What is its similarity to photosynthesis?
It has to do with the absorption of light. Light generates electrons and positive carriers and they have to be transported. In a semiconductor silicon cell, silicon material absorbs light, but it also conducts the negative and positive charge carriers. An electric field has to be there to separate those charges. All of this has to be done by one material. Silicon has to perform at least three functions. To do that, you need very pure materials, and that brings the price up. On the other hand, the dye cell uses a molecule to absorb light. It's like chlorophyll in photosynthesis, a molecule that absorbs light. But the chlorophyll's not involved in charge transport. It just absorbs light and generates a charge, and then those charges are conducted by some well-established mechanisms. That's exactly what our system does. The real breakthrough came with the nanoscopic particles. You have hundreds of particles stacked on top of each other in our light harvesting system.
When are we going to be able to buy G24i products?
Our 30MW production equipment is coming on line within the 4th quarter of 2007 with product availability shortly thereafter.
What is the main advantage of your advanced solar cell technology?
G24i’s technology has reduced capital manufacturing costs, a lower energy footprint, environmentally friendly raw materials and the ability to produce electricity in low light, outdoor conditions and indoor lighting.
What is nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology is the science of matter at the scale of one-billionth of a meter or 1/75,000]th the size of a human hair. Currently it has been receiving vast amounts of research funding from government and industry alike. In addition to numberous advantages provided by this scale of miniaturization, quantum physics effects at this size range pride additional novel properties.
By manipulating atoms at this building-block level, scientists can create stronger, lighter materials with tailored properties. Combining research from many disciplines, near-feature nanotechnology applications involve everything from scratch-proof glass to internal drug delivery systems to a sugar cube-sized computer capable of storing the information from the entire United States Library of Congress.
Dye sentisitized solar cells are photoelectrochemical cells that use photo-sensitization of wide-band-gap mesoporous oxide semiconductors. These cells were invented by Michael Graetzel et al.1) in 1988 and are also known as "Graetzel cells".
These cells are extremely promising because they are made of low-cost materials and do not need elaborate apparatus to manufacture. The cells have a simple structure that consists of two electrodes and an iodide-containing electrolyte. One electrode is dye-absorbed highly porous nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (nc-TiO2) deposited on a transparent electrically conducting substrate. The other is a transparent electrically conducting substrate only. The cells have been compared to photosynthesis because they use the redox reaction of the electrolyte. The energy conversion efficiency of the cells has not yet reached the level of silicon solar cells. The current energy conversion efficiency is about 10%, as was reported by Graetzel et al.
It is thought that the energy efficiency can rise beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit of 32%.
How does a dye sensitized solar cell work?
G24i’s advanced DYE SENSITIZED THIN FILM works on a very different principle than traditional polycrystalline where the absorption of light and the separation of charge carriers do not take place in the same material. The cell consists of two conducting electrodes (usually in the shape of small plates) in a sandwich configuration with a redox electrolyte separating the two. On one of the electrodes a compact, but very porous layer of TiO2 is constructed. On the particles of TiO2 a dye is absorbed.
When light falls onto the dye sensitized solar cell it is absorbed by the dye. The electrons that are excited, due to the extra energy the light provides, can escape from the dye and into the TiO2 and diffuse through the TiO2 to the electrode. They are eventually returned to the dye through the electrolyte.
The dye sensitized cell is made from lower cost materials than the conventional type with silicon wafers. TiO2 is a very common material (also used in toothpaste and sun lotion) and the dye can be an organic type like the colouring you find in blackberries.
What is its similarity to photosynthesis?
It has to do with the absorption of light. Light generates electrons and positive carriers and they have to be transported. In a semiconductor silicon cell, silicon material absorbs light, but it also conducts the negative and positive charge carriers. An electric field has to be there to separate those charges. All of this has to be done by one material. Silicon has to perform at least three functions. To do that, you need very pure materials, and that brings the price up. On the other hand, the dye cell uses a molecule to absorb light. It's like chlorophyll in photosynthesis, a molecule that absorbs light. But the chlorophyll's not involved in charge transport. It just absorbs light and generates a charge, and then those charges are conducted by some well-established mechanisms. That's exactly what our system does. The real breakthrough came with the nanoscopic particles. You have hundreds of particles stacked on top of each other in our light harvesting system.
When are we going to be able to buy G24i products?
Our 30MW production equipment is coming on line within the 4th quarter of 2007 with product availability shortly thereafter.
What is the main advantage of your advanced solar cell technology?
G24i’s technology has reduced capital manufacturing costs, a lower energy footprint, environmentally friendly raw materials and the ability to produce electricity in low light, outdoor conditions and indoor lighting.
What is nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology is the science of matter at the scale of one-billionth of a meter or 1/75,000]th the size of a human hair. Currently it has been receiving vast amounts of research funding from government and industry alike. In addition to numberous advantages provided by this scale of miniaturization, quantum physics effects at this size range pride additional novel properties.
By manipulating atoms at this building-block level, scientists can create stronger, lighter materials with tailored properties. Combining research from many disciplines, near-feature nanotechnology applications involve everything from scratch-proof glass to internal drug delivery systems to a sugar cube-sized computer capable of storing the information from the entire United States Library of Congress.
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