ABSTRACT
The solar cell serves as the most futuristic solution for providing cheap as well as sustainable alternative energy to meet the global energy demand in the current socio-economic scenario. Extensive research is dedicated to developing materials as well as device architectures to replace expensive silicon-material based solar cells. However, the cost and efficiency of current commercial solar cells are still beyond the reach of affordability to the general public. In that scenario, recently carbon-based materials are emerging as cost-effective counter-electrodes to solar cells. This chapter aims to cover all the recent developments in the field of solar cells, various kinds of solar cell technology available and most importantly the role of carbon to replace metals as electrodes in the recent development of state-of-the-art solar cells.
