Photovoltaic Performance of Plastic Dye-Sensitized Electrodes Prepared by Low-Temperature Binder-Free Coating of Mesoscopic Titania

Mesoporous Ti O 2 film was prepared at low temperatures, < 130 ° C , on a conductive indium-tin oxide (ITO)-coated polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) plastic sheet by doctor-blade coating of a binder-free paste consisting of nanocrystalline Ti O 2 and interparticle binding agent. Ti O 2 -loaded ITO-PEN electrodes were dye-sensitized with Ru bipyridyl complexes to construct photoanodes of plastic dye-sensitized solar cells using iodide/triiodide-based organic redox electrolytes. A solar cell with optimized Ti O 2 particle size and electrolyte composition yielded highest conversion efficiencies of 5.8% and 6.4% for an incident solar energy of 100 and 23 mW ∕ cm 2 , respectively.