A theoretical study on third generation photovoltaic technology: dye-sensitized solar cells

Authors

  • J. Gong Department of Mechanical Engineering North Dakota State University Author
  • K. Sumathy Department of Mechanical Engineering North Dakota State University Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24084/repqj10.256

Keywords:

Dye-sensitized solar cells, temperature dependence, Schottky barrier model, J-V characteristics

Abstract

A numerical model has been developed to investigate the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) under extreme weather conditions. The main purpose of this work is to simulate the temperature influence on the overall efficiency of DSSCs with a consideration of the voltage loss at titanium dioxide (TiO2 )/ transparent conductive oxide (TCO) interface. Appropriate simulation input parameters are chosen to reflect the extreme winter weather conditions of Fargo, North Dakota. It is found that at the temperature 250 K (ca. -20 °C), the maximum power output is about 23 W/m2 which is about 50% lower than the value at 340 K (ca. 70 °C). The study reveals that low temperature conditions have serious detrimental effects on the DSSCs’ performance.

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Published

2024-01-15

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 2 (2012)

Section

Articles