Solar cell employing phosphorescent materials
AssigneeRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
InventorVidhya Chakrapani
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A solar cell device having a solid state light absorber region that incorporates a donor-acceptor particle structure. The particle structure includes acceptor particles that generate a flow of electrons in the solid state light absorber region in response to absorbed photons; and donor particles comprising a phosphorescent material, wherein each donor particle is coupled to a group of acceptor particles, and wherein the phosphorescent material absorbs high energy photons and emits lower energy photons that are absorbed by the acceptor particles.
Claims20
A solar cell device, comprising:
- a solid state light absorber region that includes a donor-acceptor particle structure having:
- acceptor particles adsorbed on an inert nanoparticles current collector, which results in a flow of electrons in the solid state light absorber region in response to absorbed photons;
- and
- donor panicles comprising a phosphorescent material, wherein each donor particle is coupled to a group of acceptor particles, and wherein the phosphorescent material absorbs high energy photons and emits lower energy photons that are absorbed by the acceptor particles.
A dye sensitive solar cell (DSSC) device, comprising:
- a counter electrode;
- an electrolyte region;
- a transparent back contact;
- and
- a transparent electrode disposed between the electrolyte region and transparent back content, wherein the transparent electrode includes a donor-acceptor particle structure having:
- acceptor particles adsorbed on an inert nanoparticles current collector, which upon absorption of photons, results in a flow of free electrons in the acceptor particles, injection of electrons into the inert nanoparticles current collector, and transport of injected electrons by the inert nanoparticles can collector to the transparent back contact;
- and
- donor particles comprising a phosphorescent material, wherein each donor particle is coupled to a group of acceptor particles, and wherein the phosphorescent material absorbs high energy photons and emits lower energy photons that are absorbed by the acceptor particles.
A method of forming a dye sensitive solar cell (DSSC) device, comprising:
- providing a first and a second transparent back contact;
- forming a transparent electrode on the first transparent back contact, wherein the transparent electrode includes a donor-acceptor particle structure having:
- acceptor particles adsorbed on an inert nanoparticles current collector;
- and
- donor particles comprising a phosphorescent material, wherein each donor panicle is coupled to a group of acceptor particles, and wherein the phosphorescent material absorbs high energy photons and emits lower energy photons that are absorbed by the acceptor particles;
- forming a counter electrode on the second transparent back contact;
- and
- forming an electrolyte region between the counter electrode and transparent electrode;
- wherein the transparent electrode forms a light absorption region, which upon absorption of photons results in a flow of free electrons in the acceptor particles, injection of electrons into the inert nanoparticles current collector and transport of injected electrons by the inert nanoparticles current collector to the first transparent back contact.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.