ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a photovoltaic cell, created from low- to medium-purity materials through low-cost processes, which exhibits a commercially realistic energy-conversion efficiency. Solar energy conversion by photoelectrochemical cells has been intensively investigated. Dye-sensitized cells differ from the conventional semiconductor devices in that they separate the function of light absorption from charge carrier transport. High-surface-area Titanium dioxide (TiO2) films were deposited on a conducting glass sheet from colloidal solutions. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy revealed TiO2 films to be composed of a three-dimensional network of interconnected nanoscale particles. The long-term stability of cell performance was tested by illuminating the thin TiO2 film loaded with 1 with visible light for 2 months. Bare films are transparent and colourless, displaying the fundamental absorption edge of anatase in the ultraviolet region. The size of the particles and pores making up the film is controlled by the size of the particles in the colloidal solution.
