Hamburg 2001 – scientific programme

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AKE: Energie

AKE 5: Energietechniken - Sonne, W
ärme, Licht

AKE 5.1: Invited Talk

Thursday, March 29, 2001, 09:30–10:15, S4

Sensitized Nanocrystalline Solar Cells — •Augustin McEvoy und Michael Grätzel — Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Lausanne

Learning from the concepts used by green plants we have developed a photovoltaic cell based on molecular light absorbers and nanocrystalline semiconductor films. A monolayer of a charge transfer sensitizer is anchored to the surface of mesoporous layer of a large band gap oxide such as TiO2, ZnO, or SnO2. Light harvesting occurs efficiently over the whole visible and near IR range due to large internal surface area of the film. The films are contacted with a hole conductor, such as a liquid redox electrolyte, or a solid charge transport material, forming an interpenetrating hetero-junction of huge contact area. Judicious molecular engineering allows the photo-induced charge separation to occur quantitatively within femtoseconds. The certified overall power conversion efficiency of the new solar cell for standard AM 1.5 solar radiation stands presently between 10 and 11

The lecture will highlight recent progress in the development of solar cells for practical use. Advancement in the understanding of the factors that govern stability as well as improvement of cell components to increase photovoltaic performance will be discussed.

(Die Autoren arbeiten seit 10 Jahren an der nanokristallinen Solarzelle, die als Alternative zur Silizium-Solarzelle zur Zeit weltweites Aufsehen erregt.)