{"id":6574,"date":"2012-05-29T13:55:02","date_gmt":"2012-05-29T17:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.energyrefuge.com\/blog\/?p=6574"},"modified":"2017-09-05T17:44:34","modified_gmt":"2017-09-05T21:44:34","slug":"new-dye-sensitized-solar-cell-could-be-cheaper-and-longer-lasting-alternative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.energyrefuge.com\/blog\/new-dye-sensitized-solar-cell-could-be-cheaper-and-longer-lasting-alternative\/","title":{"rendered":"New Dye-sensitized Solar Cell Could be Cheaper and Longer-lasting Alternative"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The standard solar cell uses silicon oxide, which is expensive and environmentally toxic. One of the promising alternatives is the so-called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Gr\u00c3\u00a4tzel cell\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, a cheaper, cleaner alternative based on more abundant titanium oxide. However, they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t last long because this type of dye-sensitized cell uses an electrolyte made from an organic liquid that can leak and potentially corrode the cell.
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Researchers at the Northwestern University in Colorado believe they may have solved the problem with the development of a new material that solidifies after being applied to the nanoparticles, therefore it won’t corrode the cell. They say their solid-state cell is more robust and could finally present a viable alternative to standard commercial silicon cells, even though efficiency rate is lower at around 10 percent (while silicon ones may reach 20 per cent).<\/p>\n

Researcher Robert P.H. Chang said the cell uses \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nanotechnology to the hilt. We have millions and millions of nanoparticles, which gives us a huge effective surface area, and we coat all the particles with light-absorbing dye.” <\/p>\n

The next step is to develop an array to carry out further tests.<\/p>\n

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