Photovoltaic cells
AssigneeEcole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
InventorsMichael Graetzel, Mohammad K. Nazeeruddin, Brian O'Regan
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Abstract
A photovoltaic cell comprising a light transmitting electrically conductive layer deposited on a glass plate or a transparent polymer sheet to which a series of titanium dioxide layers have been applied, in which at leash the last titanium dioxide layer (optionally also the second to last and third to last layer) are doped with a metal ion which is selected from a divalent or trivalent metal.
Claims8
A solar-light-responsive photovoltaic cell comprising a first electrode comprising
- i) a light transmitting electrically conductive layer deposited on a glass plate or a transparent polymer sheet;
- ii) at least one porous, high surface area titanium dioxide layer applied to said light transmitting electrically conductive layer;
- iii) a dopant applied to at least the outermost titanium dioxide layer, optionally also to the second to the outermost and third to the outermost layer, said dopant being selected from a divalent metal ion, trivalent metal ion, and boron;
- and
- iv) a photosensitizer applied to the dopant-containing TiO.sub.2 layer, said photosensitizer being attached to the TiO.sub.2 layer by means of interlocking groups, said interlocking groups being selected from carboxylate groups, cyano groups, phosphate groups and chelating groups with conducting character selected from oximes, dioximes, hydroxy quinolines, salicylates, and .alpha.-keto-enolates.
A photovoltaic cell according to claim in which the interlocking groups are selected from carboxylates and cyano groups.
A photovoltaic cell comprising
- i) an electrically conductive first plate on which a TiO.sub.2 film having a thickness of 0.1-50 microns is coated, said TiO.sub.2 film being a multi-layer laminate coated with a transition metal complex photosensitizer, at least the last layer of the TiO.sub.2 film being doped with a dopant selected from divalent metal ions, trivalent metal ions, and boron;
- and
- ii) A conductive second plate separated from the first plate by a thin layer of electrolyte, wherein the visible light transmittance of at least one of the plates is at least 60%.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.