ABSTRACT
Technological and social developments of humankind have been well supported by the discovery of new sources of energy and its proper application in day-to-day life. Since the •rst installation of electricity grids by Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse almost 130 years ago, our society has been driven by this source of energy. Most of this electric energy is produced from coal-•red power generation systems. Another source of energy, mainly used in the transportation industry, comes from burning carbon-based fuels, such as gasoline. Today’s modern era, however, demands development of new and more ef•cient technologies for next-generation electrical grids and shifting of the focus of power generation to cleaner and C-free sources [1]. Both the scarcity of carbon-based fossil fuels and environmental pollution created by the burning of fossil fuels are responsible for this essential shift. Possible sources of such clean and renewable energy are solar, nuclear, wind, and geothermal energy. It is worth mentioning here that the world consumes less energy in one year than the
10.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 291 10.2 Solar Cell Applications: Why Graphene? .....................................................292 10.3 Graphene-Based Structures in Solar Cell Applications ............................... 295
10.3.1 Graphene-Based Materials as Transparent Conducting Electrodes in Inorganic Solar Cells .................................................. 295
10.3.2 Graphene-Based Materials as Electrodes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells .........................................................................................299
