ABSTRACT
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), known as the third generation
of solar cells, are being considered as a promising alternative
to expensive conventional silicon-based photovoltaic devices. This
interest relates to low material cost, easy and inexpensive methods
of fabrication, and relatively high power conversion efficiency for
DSSCs. Inspired by the breakthrough work of Gra¨tzel, much effort
has been made to further improve the performance in the past
decades. As one of the key components, the photoanode not only
acts as the backbone for dye adsorption but also assumes the
task of charge transport, which determines DSSC performance.
The conventional TiO2 nanoparticle (NP)-based photoanode suffers
from inefficient charge transfer and light harvesting. To optimize
the photoanode architecture, we show the design of novel nanos-
tructured photoanode materials featuring large dye uptake ability,
efficient charge transfer, and improved light harvesting. In this
chapter, the first part provides a brief introduction to various
aspects of DSSCs, including device structure, working principles,
and characterization techniques. The second part reviews recent
advances in the engineering of photoanode architectures, followed
by a brief discussion regarding the stability and commercialization
of DSSC technology. Our recent work will then be presented in the
next section, focusing on the design of new photoanode materials
for enhanced DSSC application. In the end, a relevant conclusion and
outlook will be addressed for the future development of low-cost
and efficient solar cells.
