Development of Paint-Type Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Using Carbon Nanotube Paint

This paper proposes paint-type dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). DSCs, one type of solar cell, generally consist of a dye-attached semiconducting electrode, a metallic electrode, and an electrolyte. The DSC generates power through the excitation of the electrons in the dyes and the oxidation-reduction reaction between the dyes and the electrolyte. For our paint-type DSC, we made two electrodes by painting two types of paint on substrates. We used carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the paint material because they have both semiconducting and metallic properties. This enabled us to prepare semiconducting and metallic electrodes easily by simply painting with the CNT paint. As a result of testing, we determined that our DSCs were capable of power generation. Our paint-type DSCs have the potential to provide power as a unique and useful device for daily life in the near future.

Uses of Physical Vapor Deposition Processes in Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Systems

Most of the hydrogen on planet earth is found bound to oxygen atoms in water, making H2O one of the most promising H2 storage molecules. Large availability, non-toxicity and low cost are among the advantages of using H2O as a H2 gas source. However, the decomposition of water into H2 and O2, called water splitting, needs a large amount of energy, increasing the final cost per kg of hydrogen produced. In this context, the energy provided by the sun may be used to power photoelectrochemical cells (PEC) for water splitting to produce cheap and high purity H2. This mini-review will show recent advances on the use of physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods to improve semiconducting electrode performance. PVD enables the preparation of thin layers of expensive materials over photoelectrodes, therefore decreasing PEC systems manufacture costs. Moreover, the interface of between the semiconductor and the evaporated materials can be optimized under high vacuum conditions used in PVD processes and more efficient PEC systems can be obtained.