Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 54–64

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Recent improvements in dye sensitized solar cells: A review

Vipinraj Sugathan n, Elsa John, K. Sudhakar
Department of Energy, MANIT, Bhopal, M.P., India

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) is considered to be one of the most promising technological
Received 9 October 2014 developments in the field of Solar Cells. It is basically a cell that imitates the process seen in plant
Received in revised form cells to produce energy. It is a photo-electrochemical cell, considering the electron moments caused by
20 May 2015
the combined effect of the photon energy and the chemical reactions. The DSSC being transparent to
Accepted 15 July 2015
some extent and comparatively cheaper than conventional solar photo-voltaic, can be a potential energy
source for the future. But there are many aspects that need to be worked upon before declaring it as a
Keywords: feasible commercial product. The paper emphasizes on these aspects and the various improvements that
Dye sensitized solar cell the DSSC has gone through in recent years. This is a detailed review of the work done to improve the
Counter electrode
performance of DSSC, with supporting data. A comparative study of the effect of various suggested
Sensitizer
modification to the different components of DSSC has been done. This would give a clear idea about the
Fill factor
Nano-rods most recent improvements done in DSSC with respect to the various components. It includes a summary
Electrolyte of the suggested improvements by various researchers, bifurcated into different sections with respect to
Photoanode the different components of the DSSC. It was observed that incorporating graphene sheets of various
sizes in the photo anode helped to improve the efficiency of DSSC significantly, giving a maximum
efficiency of 6.62%. In case of novel dyes used in the DSSC fabrication the D-A-pi-A indoline dyes showed
a great enhancement in the cell efficiency, with efficiency of up to 6.9%. Incorporation of Pt in counter
electrodes and 3D-CE also showed notably good efficiency in DSSC, the efficiency improving up to 8.8%.
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
2. Working of DSSC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3. Review of improvements in photoanode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.1. Improvements in nano structures of photoanode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.2. Experiments with seed layer and preparation methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3.3. Experiments with semiconductor materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4. Review of improvements in sensitizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.1. Development of novel dyes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.2. Other improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5. Review of improvements in electrolyte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
6. Review of improvements in counter electrode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
7. Other improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 9584512009; fax: 0755 4051260.
E-mail addresses: vipinraj11889@gmail.com (V. Sugathan), john.elsa91@gmail.com (E. John), nittsudhakar@gmail.com (K. Sudhakar).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.076
1364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 V. Sugathan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 54–64 55

8. Fill factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
9. Result and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
10. Scope for further research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
11. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

1. Introduction
of a liquid electrolyte containing an iodide/triiodide redox mediator
Solar PV technologies have gone through significant development and a Pt metal counter electrode [20].
over the years. Starting from the First-generation PV cells which are The efficiency of the DSSC as a unit depends on the individual
the most developed set of solar PV cells which dominate the market performance of its components; hence improvement in each of these
and fully commercial in nature, examples being single-crystalline (sc- can contribute to the enhancement in overall performance of the
Si) or multi-crystalline (mc-Si). Then the Second-generation PV DSSC. A substantial amount of work has been done for improvement
systems that are in the early stages of development, these cells are at different levels which has been elaborated further. Other work
slowly growing and occupying the markets. The main attraction being including development of Poly epinephrine (PEP) and poly dopamine
the comparatively low manufacturing costs and finally the Third- (PDA) in a novel approach, in an alkaline solution containing tris
generation PV systems comprising of technologies, such as concen- (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane (THAM) buffer with pH¼8.5 under
trating PV (CPV) and organic PV cells that are still in the develop- nitrogen atmosphere, were also experimented with [70].
mental phase or have not yet been widely commercialized. It also This paper aims at bringing together the various works done by
includes novel concepts under development. The dye –sensitized researchers to improve the efficiency of the DSSC. There is a proper
solar cells may be considered to be a part of the third generation cells. bifurcation of the suggested improvements and experiments based
A number of experiments were carried out to improve the perfor- on the different components of the DSSC. The review suggested
mance of the solar PV for applications in Building integrated photo that graphene sheets of various sizes in the photo anode could
voltaic (BIPV) [1–3]. The DSSC finds fairly good application in BIPV. help to improve the efficiency of the DSSC. Some novel dyes such
O’Regan and Grätzel first reported the pioneering work on the as the D-A-pi-A indoline dyes showed good results, with up to
promising applications of nano-sized TiO2 porous film electrodes 6.9% efficiency. Incorporation of Pt in counter electrodes and 3DCE
in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) [4]. The DSSC was low cost also showed notably good efficiency in DSSC.
and considered to have very high photon to electricity conversion
efficiency and so soon became an intense field of research.
Penetrating research work was carried out and a notable amount 2. Working of DSSC
of work has been reported.
The basic components of DSSC include photoanode, sensitizer, An efficiency of about 12% has been achieved in DSSCs [21]. The
electrolyte, and counter electrode. Semiconductor nano structures are photon incident on the dye, excites the dye. Electrons from excited
employed to develop the photoanode. Various nano structures such state of the dye, enters the conduction band of TiO2(or any semicon-
as nano-rods, nano-tubes, nano-wires, nano-cones, nano-leaves or ductor material used) [22,23]. The electrons then flow through the
their mixture has been fabricated on transparent conductive glass [5]. porous TiO2 thin film to the transparent conducting oxide (TCO). This
For many years, TiO2 nano-structured materials and the ruthenium- electron flow depends on the incident intensity and trapping–detrap-
bipyridyl dye families such as N719, N3 and C101 are the most ping effect [24–26]. The oxidized dye molecules are regenerated, when
efficient materials for the photoanode, and have subjugated the the dye receives electrons from a redox mediator (I  /I3 ). The
highly efficient solar cells [6,7]. Some researchers consider ZnO as mediators are oxidized in the process. Further, these oxidized redox
mediators (I3 ) are diffused to the counter electrode where they are
the most promising alternative to TiO2. Many recent studies show the
regenerated by reduction due to the electrons reaching the counter
application of ZnO nano structures for photo-electrodes with
enhanced photovoltaic performance of Dye-sensitized solar cells.
DSSC developed using network structure of electron-spun ZnO nano
fiber mats [8], ZnO nano-sheets derived from growth mechanisms
directed by surfactants [9], effects of annealing on the performance of
DSSC using ZnO [10], effects of morphology of nano structures of ZnO
films on efficiency on DSSC [11], ZnO nano structures for DSSC [12]
are some of the works involving application of ZnO in DSSC.
Experiments have been carried out with a number of metal-
free organic photosensitizes for DSSCs [13]. Few dyes used for
fabrication are, coumarin [14], indoline [15], merocyanine [16] and
hemicyanine [17], showing prominent photovoltaic performance.
Commonly used counter electrode is the Pt deposited TCO
substrate, as it has been the most fruitful combination for the counter
electrode. Since both these materials (Pt and TCOs) are very expen-
sive, it is extremely important to find new cost effective materials and
approaches to replace the Pt and TCOs in CEs. Carbon based nano-
materials (e.g. carbon nano-tubes, graphene or graphene nano-plates)
are potential substitutes as these materials have good electric con-
ductivity and high surface area [18,19]. A characteristic DSSC consists Fig. 1. DSSC schematic band diagram [28].
56 V. Sugathan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 54–64

electrode, through an external circuit, for a complete operation cycle
[27]. The working can be understood better from the Schematic band
diagram shown in Fig. 1 [28]. The Dye molecule is excited by the
incident photon. The excited dye (Dyen) is at a higher energy level and
releases an electron into the conduction band of the TiO2 (or other
nano material like ZnO, CuO, etc.) nano particle, creating a potential
difference. This electron is free to move through an external circuit and
reach the counter electrode. At the counter electrode and electrolyte
interface the electron takes part in the redox reactions and then
supplied back to the dye molecules.
All basic components of the DSSC have been worked upon by
different researchers, and a number of improvements have been
suggested. The improvements have been reviewed and summar-
ized into different categories, as improvements in photoanode,
sensitizers, electrolyte and counter electrode.
higher conversion efficiency. This can be achieved if the electron
transport rate is high. When the photon energy from the sun falls on
the dye, the dye is excited and its molecules inject electron into the TiO2
conduction band and hole is injected in the electrolyte as well. These
electrons diffse through the TiO2 particles and flow through an external
circuit, through the load. High performance in DSSC can be achieved by
high electron injection from the dye and rapid electron transport.
The TiO2 nano-particles based photoanode is most commonly
used in DSSC, but it has some limitations due to the presence of large
number of grain boundaries, that lead to electron recombination
losses. It also fails to achieve good efficiency in near infrared region.
Fairly good amount of research have been fixated on improving
the TiO2 based photo-electrodes emphasizing on high specific
surface area, large light scattering effect, enhanced interface
quality, fast electron transport, and enhanced charge-collection
capability. Few of the works done is summarized here.

3. Review of improvements in photoanode 3.1. Improvements in nano structures of photoanode

The photoanode supports the dye molecules and helps in the The efficiency of DSSC can be enhanced if the photon absorp-
electron transfer and hence is an imperative component of DSSC. The tion is boosted by some means. The entire incident energy can be
electron hole recombination rate should be low in order to achieve absorbed if the photoactive layer of the DSSC is thick. But thick

Table 1
Summary of performance parameters on improvements in nano structures of photoanode.

S. Proposed idea JSC VOC FF Efficiency Reference

no. (mA/ (V) (%)
cm2)

1 Application of ZnO micro-flowers as scattering layer for ZnO-based dye-sensitized solar Type [29]
cells with enhanced conversion efficiency ZnO nanoparticles film 8.03 0.49 0.56 2.31
based cell
ZnO bilayer film-based 10.30 0.53 0.55 3.20
cell
2 Echinoid-like particles with high surface area for dye-sensitized solar cells Type [30]
Single-layer film using 10.2 0.747 0.67 5.15
echinoid particles
Single-layer film using 3.58 0.797 0.70 2.02
beads particles
Double layer film using 13.6 0.741 0.67 6.74
echinoid particles
Double layer film using 13.1 0.749 0.67 6.63
beads particles
3 Hierarchical porous titania/carbon nanotube nano-composite photoanode synthesized by CNT content wt% [31]
controlled phase separation for dye sensitized solar cell 0.16 3.60 0.681 0.53 1.29
0.32 10.12 0.680 0.56 3.85
0.64 5.82 0.685 0.52 2.18
1.28 4.44 0.680 0.55 1.66
4 Performance enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cells by incorporating grapheme sheets Graphene thickness [32]
of various sizes 1.2 mm 11.87 0.68 0.63 5.09
444 nm 12.92 0.68 0.66 5.31
292 nm 13.75 0.68 0.60 6.15
184 nm 14.66 0.68 0.66 6.62
5 Dye-sensitized solar cells based on TiO2nanoparticles/nano-belts double-layered film with Type [33]
improved photovoltaic performance TiO2 P–B 14.1 0.557 0.61 4.81
TiO2P–P 11.2 0.505 0.62 3.55
TiO2B–B 0.97 0.637 0.58 0.36
6 ZnO photoanodes with different morphologies grown by electrochemical deposition and Type [34]
their dye-sensitized solar cell properties ZnO film 0.1855 0.449 0.18 0.018
ZnO nano-sheet 0.2501 0.553 0.22 0.025
ZnO nanowire 1.5743 0.668 0.30 0.320
7 Hydrothermal synthesis of oriented ZnO nanorod–nanosheets hierarchical architecture on Type [35]
zinc foil as flexible photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells Nano-rods 1.321 0.538 0.49 0.35
NR-NS 3.041 0.524 0.42 0.67
8 Improving photoelectric conversion efficiency of DSSC using ZnO/ZnP composite nano- Type [36]
rods Composite ZnO/ZnP on 15.4 0.51 0.20 1.58
FTO
Composite ZnO/ZnP on 15.9 0.55 0.20 1.76
ZnO film
ZnO nano rods on FTO 5.51 0.65 0.38 1.37
9 Controllable synthesis of rutile TiO2 nano-rod array, nano-flowers and microspheres Type [37]
directly on fluorine-doped tin oxide for dye-sensitized solar cells Nano-rod array 4.64 0.81 0.51 1.90
Nano-flower 4.04 0.75 0.50 1.53
Microsphere 5.12 0.78 0.48 1.94
 V. Sugathan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 54–64 57

layers may cause hindrance in electron transport and the conver-
sion efficiency may fall.
Many semiconductor have been used, but the ZnO nano-
particles having band gab similar to that of TiO2 has been
extensively used by researchers.
An efficiency of 3.44% has been reported by Xu et al. [29]. Using a
double light-scattering-layer ZnO film consisting of ZnO monodis-
perse aggregates as underlayer and submicrometer-sized plate like-
ZnO as overlayer used as photoanode, DSSC was fabricated. The
fabricated ZnO micro-flowers/nano-particles bilayer film-based solar
cell had much higher light harvesting efficiency, lower resistance and
longer electron lifetime as compared with the ZnO nano-particles
film-based one, which gave an improved conversion efficiency of
around 47% greater than monodispersed aggregates ZnO layer alone.
Song et al. [30] reported the synthesis of echinoid-like particles
which contributed in two major factors. It provided larger surface
areas for the dyes and also produced a light scattering effect
leading to enhanced light harvesting ability, for the DSSC. The
reported analysis show faster recombination of electrons in the
echinoid-like particles. The VOC decreased and dye loading
increased and hence there was an increase in the JSC.
Mohammad Reza Golobostanfard, and Hossein Abdizadeh, in
their work have successfully assimilated carbon nanotubes (CNT)
in Titania photoanode of DSSC, with hierarchical porous structure
synthesized by controlled phase separation [31].The results
showed lower series resistance, lower charge injection resistance,
and higher electron lifetime. The charge transport and separation
properties are desirable for efficient DSSCs. Moreover, addition of
CNTs in Titania matrix increased the critical thickness with which
the maximum efficiency of the cell could be achieved.
In another innovative approach Satapathi et al. fabricated DSSC
using photoanodes made from Graphene–TiO2 nano-composites
[32]. The relation between the size of graphene sheets and the cell
performance was explored. It was concluded that cells loaded with
the smaller graphene sheets yielded larger enhancement. The
smaller graphene sheets improved the dye adsorption, leading to
higher conversion efficiency.
Fan et al. fabricated DSSC using double layers of nano-structured
TiO2 films as photoanodes [33]. The performances of DSSCs based on
composite photoanodes in the forms of TiO2nanoparticles/nano-
particles (TiO2 P–P), TiO2 nano-particles/nano-belts (TiO2 P–B), TiO2
nano-belts/nano-belts (TiO2 B–B) double-layered electrodes with the
same film thicknesses were studied in detail, and their corresponding
efficiencies were 4.81%, 3.55% and 0.36% respectively.
The optical scattering effect provided by TiO2 nano-belts and
high dye absorbing capacity of the TiO2 nano-particles, helped to
improve the overall efficiency
Zi et al. grew zinc oxide (ZnO) samples with different morphol-
ogies, e.g. film, nano-wire and nano-sheet, with electrochemical
deposition (ECD) by controlling the precursor concentration [34].
The photovoltaic conversion efficiency of the dye-sensitized solar cells
(DSSC) assembled with different ZnO photoanodes was inspected. It
was observed that the DSSC constructed with ZnO nanowire array as
photoanode can absorb more dye, improve the photon utilization rate
and provide rapid collection channels for the photo-excited carriers,
thus, improving the corresponding efficiency.
Zhu et al. synthesized ZnO nanorods–nanosheets (NR–NS) hierarch-
ical architecture [35]. Long nano-rods act as the backbones and thin
nano-sheets as branches on zinc foil substrate developed by a two-step
hydrothermal growth process for dye-sensitized solar cells application.
This helped in giving flexibility to the photoanode for DSSC.
Bokhari et al. worked on the elimination of heterogeneous interface
between FTO and nano-rods cooperatively with the growth of compo-
site ZnO/ZnP nano-rods on the top of ZnO film [36]. Three different
methods were followed for the same. In the first method, ZnO nano-
rod film was grown on the FTO by the process of Chemical Bath

Table 2
Performance parameters of DSSC with respect to experiments conducted on seed layer.

S.no. Fabrication of photoanode idea Jsc (mA/cm) Voc (V) FF Efficiency % Reference

1 ZnO nano-rod based DSSC Thickness of seed layer (mm) [40]

10 1.85 0.55 0.37 0.38
20 1.95 0.55 0.37 0.39
50 2.05 0.55 0.36 0.40
75 2.10 0.55 0.36 0.42
100 2.08 0.55 0.36 0.42
2 Monolayers photoanodes, with and without ultrasonic treatment Type [41]
With ultrasonic treatment 7.25 0.71 0.516 2.67
Without ultrasonic treatment 3.68 0.63 0.561 1.31
3 Optimized spin coating process for seed layer formation Combination [42]
Bare-FTOþ DT51 5.88 0.444 0.47 1.21
SC2 þDT51 6.90 0.515 0.63 2.23
SC4 þDT51 6.94 0.494 0.55 1.87
SC6 þDT51 6.08 0.496 0.58 1.76
4 Nano-crystalline TiO2 developed through hydrothermal synthesis pH value [43]
1 4.62 0.71 0.66 2.17
3 8.17 0.71 0.62 3.64
5 7.20 0.68 0.62 3.02
7 7.33 0.69 0.66 3.31
9 6.44 0.72 0.64 2.98
5 Fabrication DSSC with graphene–titania films Graphene Wt % [44]
0.1 8.92 0.75 0.60 3.14
0.3 10.93 0.75 0.61 4.08
0.5 10.90 0.74 0.59 5.02
0.7 9.27 0.72 0.60 4.00
1.0 8.67 0.69 0.60 3.62
6 Different quantities of TiO2 thin films Quantity [45]
Single strip 0.56 0.78 0.36 0.15
Double strip 0.86 0.70 0.36 0.22
Triple strip 1.11 0.71 0.32 0.25
CSORG9 12.07 0.720 0.685 6.0
7 RF-sputtered TiO2 layer 12.3 0.780 0.61 5.9 [46]
58 V. Sugathan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 54–64

Deposition method. The second method employed composite nano- significant enhancement in the photocurrent densities and con-
rods ZnO/ZnP grown on ZnO film. And the third one, was fabrication of version efficiencies of ZnO nano-rod array-based DSSCs.
DSSC using composite ZnO nano-rods on FTO. The results showed that Saurdi et al. compared two monolayers photoanodes with
the composite nanostructure increases the surface to volume ratio for ultrasonic and without ultrasonic TiO2 for different parameters
anchoring dye molecule. The optical/photon absorption and conversion [41]. TiO2 photoanode was prepared by mixing the commercial
capability of the DSSC increased. Titania powder P-25 with a titanium sol–gel. In order to improve
Xu et al. synthesized rutile nano-rod array, nano-flower and the mixing condition, the paste was subjected to ultrasonic
microspheres by changing the ratios of HCl and CH3COOH in solvent treatment. It was evident from the results that ultrasonic treat-
keeping all other conditions constant [37]. Keeping the VHCl/VCH3COOH ment helped in obtaining smaller particle size of the monolayer
concentration ratio as 10:2, 8:6 and 4:4, TiO2 nano-rod arrays, nano- and so the transmittance properties improved.
flowers film and microspheres film are obtained, respectively. The Sangiorgi et al. developed an optimized spin coating process
microsphere derived photoanode showed higher conversion efficiency using an alcoholic TiCl4 solution and correlated to the final
than that of nano-rod arrays and nano-flowers film. The reason for this properties of the layer [42]. The physicochemical characteristics
being the large surface curvatures of microspheres, which facilitates of the precursor solution and the spin coating parameters were
better dye absorption less electron transfer interface resistance. optimized to obtain a uniform layer. When compared with those
Priyadharsini et al. used nano particles as light harvesting agents obtained using a conventional dip coating technique, the results
to improve efficiency of the solar cell [38]. In this study, a thin layer of showed that the newly developed spin coating process produces
titanium dioxide nano-particles have been used to create the active blocking layers with superior properties. The TiO2 powder DT51
layer (anode) which is infused with natural dye molecule namely was used for the experiment purpose. 2, 4 and 6 coating cycles
anthocyanin( from pomegranate and hibiscus) and chlorophyll. were considered and named as SC2, SC4, SC6, respectively.
The performance parameters obtained by the above experi- Han et al. experimented with nano-crystalline TiO2 developed
mental work has been summarized in the Table 1. through hydrothermal synthesis [43]. Reaction temperature was
changed from 120–160 1C and pH value from 1 to 9. The phase of
3.2. Experiments with seed layer and preparation methods the powder was affected by the pH value, whereas the reaction
temperature altered the particle size.
Mesoporous TiO2 is common in DSSCs to implant a high density Kim et al. fabricated DSSC with graphene–titania films by super-
of dye molecules onto the TiO2 surface which help inenhancing sonic kinetic spray, known as aerosol deposition [44]. Graphene
the photo absorption process. However, there is a possibility of an concentration was varied to fabricate 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 1.0 wt%
electrical short between the liquid electrolyte and transparent G–TiO2 films for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) application and to
conducting oxide (TCO) due to the highly porous nature of the TiO2 investigate the effect of graphene concentration on their energy
layer. To avoid this problem, sol–gel processed TiO2, with particle conversion efficiency. The investigation showed that the 0.3 wt% case
size of 5–10 nm, is widely used as a compact layer in DSSCs [39]. showed the highest conversion efficiency of 5.02%.
Lately RF-sputtered TiO2 films has been reported as a replacement In 2012, in a work done by Hu et al. an improvement in the
for the sol–gel TiO2. The major improvements suggested in the conversion efficiency was reported, when different quantities with
seed layer have been reported below: the same area and a parallel interconnected type of TiO2 working
Fang et al. reported that the density of the nano-rod arrays electrode was designed on a flexible substrate [45]. The cell size,
depends on the thickness pf the seed layer [40]. It increases as the fill factor, conductivity and conversion efficiency of substrates
seed layer thickness is increased, resulting in greater surface area were all affected by the internal resistance of the DSSC.
for adsorption of dyes. The results showed that there was a Shanmugam et al. worked to replace sol–gel TiO2 with an RF-
sputtered one to achieve higher VOC and RSH [46]. TiO2 films of
about 100 nm thickness were RF-sputtered at room temperature
Table 3 on indium-tin-oxide coated glass substrates and used as the
Performance parameters obtained in the different experiments. compact layer for fabrication of DSSCs.The investigation results
showed that the RF-sputtered TiO2 compact layer, deposited at
S. Experimental Jsc (mA/ Voc FF Efficiency Reference room temperature, can replace the sol-gel processed TiO2 compact
no. substrate cm) (V) %
layer in the structure of DSSCs. The Voc of 780 mV, obtained by
1 F1 13.86 0.65 0.57 5.11 [59] DSSCs with an RF-sputtered TiO2 compact layer, is the highest
2 F2 13.72 0.64 0.54 4.85 reported VOC value for DSSCs utilizing Z-907 dyes.
3 F3 11.07 0.71 0.54 4.26 Table 2 summarizes the improvements in the performance
4 F4 10.19 0.69 0.57 4.03
parameters of DSSC due to experiments with seed layer.
5 F5 6.19 0.71 0.67 3.56
6 F6 6.87 0.67 0.71 2.96
7 F7 16.55 0.62 0.56 5.75 3.3. Experiments with semiconductor materials
8 F8 15.42 0.61 0.60 5.70
9 F9 16.37 0.71 0.52 6.05 When a narrow-band semiconducting material is added to the
10 F10 9.48 0.77 0.60 4.35
11 F11 8.89 0.71 0.60 3.82
meso-porous TiO2 electrode the light absorption in the visible
region increases, and hence the light harvesting efficiency of

Table 4
Photovoltaic parameters for fabricated mono-layer DSSC.

S. no. Experimental substrate Zn at% Jsc (mA/cm) Voc (V) FF Efficiency % Adsorbed dye (108 mol/cm2) Reference

1 ZT0 0.00 11.98 0.70 0.61 5.18 8.82 [60]

2 ZT2 0.25 7 0.01 12.74 0.69 0.60 5.32 9.05
3 ZT5 0.50 7 0.01 14.29 0.66 0.60 5.73 9.41
4 ZT7 0.75 7 0.01 13.95 0.65 0.59 5.45 9.32
5 ZT10 0.107 0.01 12.88 0.64 0.59 4.95 9.16
 V. Sugathan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 54–64
Table 5
Photovoltaic parameters for fabricated double-layer DSSC.
S. no. Experimental substrate Zn at% Jsc (mA/cm)
1 ZT5/N0 0.50 7 0.01 14.77
2 ZT5/N5 0.50 7 0.01 13.48
3 ZT5/NM0 0.50 7 0.01 16.02
4 ZT5/NM5 0.50 7 0.01 14.61
DSSCs increases. For example, metal chalcogenide semiconductors
such as cadmium sulfide (CdS) [47–51], cadmium selenide (CdSe)
[52–55], lead sulfide (PbS) [56,57], and CdS/CdSe [58] have been
used to fabricate quantum dot-sensitized solar cells.
Chou et al. proposed a simple hydrolysis method for the
fabrication of a family of quasi-core–shell TiO2 (hydrolysis)/PbS
composites for working electrodes [59]. It was observed that there
was a shift in the absorption spectra from the UV to visible range.
Better efficiency, longer life span. Various experiments were
conducted and each experiment was named from F1 through
F11, consisting of different proportions by weight of the elements
involved. The various parameters associated with each of the
experiments are summarized in Table 3.
Ghanbari Niaki et al. came up with a new strategy for improv-
ing the efficiency of TiO2 dye-sensitized solar cells by design of a
new double-layer film doped with Zn ions, with various morphol-
ogies and phase arrangements [60]. The low optical band gap
energy contributed to higher light absorption and scattering. The
photovoltaic parameters of fabricated mono-layer TiO2 DSSCs
doped with various Zn atomic percentages, and the amount of
dye absorbed is shown in the Table 4 and the photovoltaic
parameters of fabricated double-layer TiO2 DSSCs doped with
various Zn atomic percentages, and the amount of dye absorbed
is shown in the Table 5. A transparent under layer employed was
named as ZT0, ZT2, ZT5, ZT7 and ZT10, with different percentage
compositions of Anatase and Rutile. Similarly four light scattering
over-layers were formed, namely– N0, N5, NM0, NM5. The
different combinations of the transparent layer and the scattering
layer were experimented with to obtain an optimum combination.
The summary of the results is shown in the Tables 4 and 5.
4. Review of improvements in sensitizers
The sensitizer or the dye that is adhered on the photo anode
plays a very important role in harnessing the light energy from the
sun. To develop more efficient dyes for DSSCs, essential design
requirements must be satisfied. Firstly, the sensitizing dyes should
strongly adhere to the photo catalyst (TiO2) surface to ensure
efficient electron injection into the conduction band of TiO2.
Secondly, the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the
dye must be sufficiently higher than the conduction band of TiO2
for efficient charge injection, and the highest occupied molecular
orbital (HOMO) of the dye must be lower than the hole-transport
material for efficient regeneration of the oxidized dye. Finally, the
light-harvesting ability of the dye in both the visible and/or near IR
regions should be considerable to enhance the efficacy of the
absorption process [61]. Sufficient amount of work has been done
over the years to make all possible improvements in the dye. Few
of those are categorized as follows.
4.1. Development of novel dyes
Several attempts have been made to synthesize novel dyes that
could improve the overall efficiency of the DSSC. A number of
researchers have put forth their ideas in development of
59
Voc (V) FF Efficiency % Adsorbed dye (108 mol/cm2) Reference
0.68 0.60 6.14 7.95 [60]
0.67 0.60 5.50 7.42
0.68 0.60 6.58 8.39
0.66 0.59 5.85 7.9
synthesizers with new chemical and physical properties. Few of
those that show notable contributions have been described here.
Liu et al. reported preparation of four artificial chlorin-type
sensitizers, in their work [62]. Chlorin has high absorption proper-
ties in the Q band regions which helped in improving the overall
photovoltaic performance of DSSCs. The photon energy conversion
capability of the DSSC is closely related to the geometry of the
sensitizers used. The orientation of a satirically demanding 2, 6-
dichlorophenyl group towards either the 5- or 15-position (the
anchor group is at the 20-position) gives better photon energy to
electricity conversion efficiency.
In another research work, Wang et al. synthesized two new D-
A-pi-A indoline dyes (XS45 and XS46) with different additional
donors, to investigate the influence of donor and bridge structure
in indoline dyes on the photovoltaic properties of dye-sensitized
solar cells employing iodine/cobalt electrolyte [63]. The bulky
dipropylfluorene unit introduced in the donor part significantly
enhanced the light energy absorption ability and remarkably
delays the charge recombination at the titania/electrolyte inter-
face. The introduction of benzothiadiazole (BTD) in spacer evokes a
hefty receptive range of wavelengths into NIR region, but also
decreases the molar absorption coefficients of indoline dyes.
Design of three dyes 1e3 with different electron donors, i.e.
carbazole, indoline and coumarin has been reported by Zhang et
al.[64]. The work highlighted two key factors associated with the
sensitizer, that influenced the VOC were considered. First is the
charge recombination dynamics through the interaction of dye
and electrolyte. The other is the TiO2 conduction band energy shift
(DECB) upon the sensitizer adsorption.
Mao et al. derived three organic dyes from C219 and with just
different electron donors were designed to further improve the
VOC of the cell [65]. A series of novel 2, 6-disubstituted boradia-
zaindacene (BODIPY) metal-free organic dyes (UY1e4) with phe-
nothiazine (PTZ) moiety as electron donor for the dye-sensitized
solar cells have been developed [65]. The introduction of double
D-A branches and the addition of thiophene as p-conjugated
bridge increased the conversion efficiency of the DSSC. The Jsc
increased due to the proposed modifications. The dyes were
named as UY1, UY2, UY3 and UY 4.
Wu et al. proposed development of two novel organic dyes
containing julolidine as the electron donor and cyanoacetic acid or
rhodanine-3-acetic acid as the electron acceptor bridged by
bithiophene unit, and named them as J5 and J6 [66]. The results
demonstrated that sensitizers were quickly regenerated and the
dye cations are efficiently captured by the redox mediator. The
recombination rate increased notably due to replacing of cyanoa-
cetic acid to rhodanine-3-acetic acid.
A work done by Li et al. reported, two new cyclometalated
ruthenium sensitizers NC102 and NC103, where the two NCS-
ligands of the N3 analog were replaced with the 2-thiophen-2-yl-
pyridine and 2-benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl-pyridine ligands, respec-
tively, were synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cell applications
[67]. The amalgamation of thienyl pyridine ligands in the ruthe-
nium complexes enhanced the spectral response and red-shifted
absorption maxima in the visible region. The charge transfer
resistance was found to be high in each of these dyes. The electron
60 V. Sugathan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 54–64

Table 6
Photovoltaic parameters of different dyes fabricated.

S.no. Novel dyes Jsc (mA/cm) Voc (V) FF Efficiency % Reference

1 Artificial chlorin-type sensitizers Type [62]

Dye-1 8.55 0.610 0.69 3.65
Dye-2 7.21 0.600 0.67 2.92
Dye-3 4.35 0.590 0.72 1.85
Dye-4 8.37 0.600 0.71 3.60
2 D-A-pi-A indoline dyes Type [63]
XS45 14.8 0.686 0.68 6.90
XS46 13.3 0.640 0.69 5.87
3 BODIPY series of dyes derived from C219 Type [65]
UY1 6.17 0.49 0.71 2.14
UY2 6.46 0.50 0.71 2.28
UY3 9.44 0.55 0.63 3.24
UY4 12.16 0.59 0.68 4.89
4 Novel organic dyes Type [66]
J5 10.01 0.41 0.64 2.6
J6 9.48 0.33 0.64 2.0
5 Cyclometalated ruthenium sensitizers Type [67]
NC102 8.15 0.63 0.71 3.64
NC103 9.45 0.63 0.71 4.22
6 New organic dyes Type [68]
CSORG6 9.19 0.645 0.725 4.3
CSORG7 11.56 0.726 0.719 6.0
CSORG8 10.84 0.694 0.724 5.4
CSORG9 12.07 0.720 0.685 6.0
7 New dyes for P-type DSSC Type [69]
T3 4.01 0.144 0.33 0.19
T4 1.69 0.123 0.29 0.06

Table 7
4.2. Other improvements
Performance parameters of the cells.
Apart from synthesis of novel dyes, other techniques have been
S. Type of cell Jsc (mA/ Voc FF Efficiency Reference employed to improve the performances of the DSSC using the
no. cm) (V) %
existing dyes.
1 PEP- sensitized 3.63 0.33 034 0.41 [70] In a work done by Mozaffari et al. Poly epinephrine (PEP) and poly
cell dopamine (PDA) were synthesized through a new manner in an alkaline
2 PDA-sensitized 2.36 0.36 0.35 0.26 solution containing tris(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane (THAM) buffer
cell
with pH¼8.5 under nitrogen atmosphere [70]. The excess OH functional
group acts as the electron donating functional group and enables the
polymer development so the length of polymer fiber increases. The
Table 8 internal energy of the HOMO and LUMO of the polymer decreases as the
DSSC performance parameters of POX, WB, WH1, and WH2.
length of polymer increases and lower band gap is attained. Also, the
S. no. Type of cell Jsc (mA/cm) Voc (V) FF Efficiency % Reference solubility of the polymer in the solution decreases and polymer particles
are dispersed in the preparation solution in which the light reaping
1 POX 11.19 0.68 0.65 4.97 [71] would be increased leading to a noteworthy bathochromic shift of
2 WB 11.79 0.65 0.65 5.02 absorption peak. Higher short circuit currents and conversion efficiencies
3 WH1 10.11 0.69 0.72 5.09
4 WH2 10.75 0.66 0.68 4.86
are obtained. The performance parameters obtained in the experimental
work is summarized in the Table 7.
In another work done by Lee et al., cyanoacrylic acid as an
lifetime was found to be shorter which can be inferred from the additional anchoring group was introduced to the phenoxazine for
slighter short-circuit photocurrent and lower overall conversion efficient electron extraction from the donor part, and an N-substituent
efficiency of each DSSC. was added to suppress dye aggregation [71]. Phenoxazine (POZ)-based
Four new organic dyes, coded as CSORG6, CSORG7, CSORG8 and sensitizers synthesized were coded as POX, WB, WH1 and WH2. The
CSORG9, were synthesized by Reddy et al. [68]. The dyes had presence of additional cyanoacrylic acid acceptor helped in widening
electron rich thiophene spinoffs as antennas and cyanoacrylic acid the absorption ranges of the dyes and hence the short-circuit current
as acceptor, bridged by phenothiazine or phenoxazine. The light increased. It also increased the recombination rate but the insignif-
harvesting ability of the dyes could be improved by the alkyl icantly. The results obtained in the work are shown in Table 8.
substituted thiophene units. A work by Fang et al. suggests that increasing the adsorption
Zhu et al. reported two new sensitizers based on triphenylamine- and desorption cycles of the dye for proper distribution of dye
dicyanovinylene and used for p-type dye-sensitized solar cells [69]. molecules and hence better photo conversion efficiency [40].
This study suggested that amendment of the bridging moiety among
triphenylamine and the carboxylic group by cumulative thiophene
units is a promising way for averting charge recombination and hence 5. Review of improvements in electrolyte
power conversion efficiency can be boosted. The two dyes were
coded T3 and T4. The electrolyte conventionally used in DSSCs is liquid and has some
The various dyes developed and their photovoltaic perfor- major drawbacks like, poor long term stability due to evaporation,
mance is summarized in the Table 6. leakage, flammability of the liquids, decomposition of the dye, etc. A
 V. Sugathan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 54–64 61

Table 9
Performance parameters obtained by modifications in electrolyte.

S. Electrolyte study Jsc (mA/ Voc FF Efficiency Reference

no. cm) (V) %

1 Using a mixed iodide salt system with two dissimilar cations with different KI/Pr4NDIL KI wt% [75]
weight ratio 0% 6.148 0.680 0.692 2.90
50% 4.88 0.717 0.683 2.38
100% 4.612 0.751 0.685 2.37
2 Effect of solution concentrations of copper (I) iodide (CuI) Electrolyte [77]
solution
TiO2 (P25)–PEG 9.7 0.667 0.61 4.1
TiO2 (ST01)–PEG 10.9 0.698 0.59 4.6
SiO2–PEG 11.1 0.650 0.60 4.4
Al2O3–PEG 12.4 0.667 0.59 5.1

Table 10
Performance parameters of DDSC on modification in CE.

S.no. Counter electrode proposed idea Jsc (mA/cm) Voc (V) FF Efficiency % Reference

1 Counter electrodes using nano particles Type [78]

C hybrid/glass type CE 8.275 0.64 0.47 2.48
PEDOT: PSS/glass type CE 0.686 0.4 0.4 0.11
GNPs/glass type CE 2.46 0.6 0.34 0.51
2 Carbon nano-onion CE 7.65 0.68 0.65 3.39 [79]
3 Fabrication of transparent CE Type [80]
Pt nano particle based CE 11.24 0.82 0.67 6.17
Sputtered Pt based CE 10.84 0.815 0.72 6.36
4 Novel CE fabrication Type [81]
3D-CE 17.4 0.76 0.67 8.8
P-CE 14.91 0.77 0.67 7.7
5 Nano structure based CE Structure [82]
Structure 1 14.86 0.745 0.657 7.27
Structure 2 15.63 0.744 0.664 7.73
Structure 3 16.50 0.750 0.646 7.96

solution to this is the use of polymer based gel type electrolytes as they
can have judicious ionic conductivity and flexibility that is required for
good contacts between components within the solar cell. Use of
various such quasi-solid polymer electrolytes in DSSCs has been
reported but the conversion efficiencies obtained are relatively poor
compared to those with liquid electrolytes [72–74].
A work performed by Arof et al. suggests that a mixed iodide
salt system with two dissimilar cations is used to increase the
efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells made with polyvinylidene
fluoride (PVdF) based gel [75].
A research by Amalina et al. demonstrated the effect of solution
concentration of copper (I) iodide (CuI) to the thin films properties and
photovoltaic performance [76]. The surface morphology and electrical
properties of CuI thin films which was deposited on the glass substrates
were studied. The result showed that the CuI thin film properties sturdily
hinge on its forerunner concentration. This validates the possibility for
mist atomization technique to substitute the existing technology of
current deposition of hole transport material, which can be used in the
future commercial production of solid- state dye-sensitized solar cells.
Akhtar et al. developed effective composite electrolytes of
different inorganic nanofiller (TiO2, SiO2, Al2O3) and polyethylene
glycol (PEG) [77]. The morphological and physical analysis showed
that the crystallinity of Al2O3–PEG composite electrolyte was
lower than TiO2–PEG, SiO2–PEG electrolyte and PEG only.
Table 9 shows the summary of all the improvements obtained
by modification in the electrolyte of DSSC.
6. Review of improvements in counter electrode
Traditionally the counter electrode (CE) is a TCO substrate coated
with Pt. Due to the high cost of the TCO and Pt, the DSSC becomes
expensive and so improvements are required in the CE which may
include experimentation with other materials for fabrication. A few
studies have been reported in which certain modification have been
suggested in the fabrication process of the CE.
Counter electrodes developed using graphene nano particles
(GNP) or multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were proposed
by Ahmad et al. [78]. Materials detached using PEDOT: PSS
polymer and then deposited on FTO glass and non-conducting
glass substrate by drop casting method. The life and efficiency of
the counter electrode have improved.
Bu proposed the development of carbon nano-onions as carbon
electrodes in his work [79]. The deposition was done by carbon
flame synthesis on Cu coated substrate. The work reported better
efficiency of CE.
A method for fabrication of highly transparent platinum
counter electrodes has been developed based on spray coating of
Pt nano-particles on hot substrates, as reported by Iefanova et al.
[80]. There was 86% reduction in the consumption of platinum
hence the fabrication cost reduced.
Composite photo electrode with Pt nano-particles deposited on
three-dimensional (3D) fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive grid
was fabricated as the counter electrode (CE) of dye sensitized solar cell,
by Wang et al. [81]. Electrochemical active surface area increased and
charge transfer resistance decreased in iodide/tri iodide (I /I3 ) redox
electrolyte as compared to the conventional planar counter electrode.
The overall cell efficiency increased by a notable amount.
In another attempt by Dong et al. to improve the efficiency of the
DSSC a nanostructure-based Pt counter electrode was fabricated by
assembly of silver nano-particles on glass substrate and thin layer of
Pt was deposited [82]. The incident photon-to-current conversion
efficiency, short-circuit current, and power conversion efficiency of
DSSCs with nano-particulate structure are increased. Table 10 shows
62 V. Sugathan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 54–64

Table 11 A. Improvements in photoanode: it was observed that while

Comparative performances of DSSC devices fabricated using three types of photo-
electrodes.
S. Types of Jsc (mA/ Voc FF Efficiency
no. photoelectrode cm) (V) % graphene sheet from 184 nm to 1.2 mm decreases the efficiency
1 ITO/nc-TiO2 9.566 0.67 0.49 3.12
2 ITO/arc-TiO2(rf 11.475 0.71 0.61 5.00
sputter)
3 ITO/c-TiO2 (Sol–gel) 10.63 0.72 0.61 4.68
Table 12
Fill factors for different types of solar cells [93].
S.no. Type of solar cell
1 Mono-crystalline silicon
2 Poly- crystalline silicon
3 Amorphous silicon
4 DSSC
the effect of all these improvements in counter electrode on the
performance of DSSC.
7. Other improvements
Kuo et al. reported that, by high-speed dye solution droplet
bombardments, TiO2 dye adsorption time reduces from hours to
minutes [83].
Abdullah et al. introduced an anti-reflective TiO2 compact layer
(arc-TiO2) with a gradient refractive index less than the ITO which
shifted the transmittance and decreased the loss of charge carrier
due to recombination [84]. Compact layer at the interface offers
higher right-shifted transmittance peaks and lower Schottky and
built-in barrier characteristics to the innovative substrate. Table 11
shows the comparative performances of DSSC devices fabricated
using three types of photo-electrodes. The performance was
compared to sol–gel derived compact layer (c-TiO2).
8. Fill factor
Fill factor (FF) is an important aspect of performance analysis of
any solar cell. Numerous studies have been carried out to understand
the fill factor in DSSC. Studies suggest that ZnO based cells have very
low FF (30.6–49%) [85–89]. However, the open circuit voltage (VOC)
decay rate of ZnO NW cells is very slow, signifying long life of photo-
induced electrons in conduction band and so the recombination rate
is less [88], causing only small dark current from the cells.
It is believed that a lower electron recombination rate results in a
longer photoelectron life and smaller dark current, giving better FF
[90] and [88]. But, low FF of ZnO based DSSC is due to high
recombination rates, even though their dark currents are negligible
at potential less than about 0.5 V [87,88,91] and [89]. The FF of ZnO
NW cells was seen to be the smallest among the ZnO NW, ZnO NP,
TiO2NP and TiO2-coated ZnO NW cells, though its VOC decay rate and
charge recombination rate are the lowest, which is in contradictory to
previous observations [92]. A comparison between the FF of different
kinds of solar cells is given in the Table 12.
9. Result and discussion
The various findings from this review paper have been listed
down below according to the improvements brought about in each
part of the DSSC:
experimenting with the nanostructures of the photoanode,
the best efficiency of 5.09–6.62% was obtained by incorporating
Reference graphene sheets of various sizes. Increasing the thickness of the
and hence shows that the nanostructure of a lesser thickness
[84] layer should be preferred. Experiments with the seed layer of
the photoanode showed that the fabrication of the DSSC with
the graphene–titania film gave a considerable efficiency in the
range of 3–5% with a Fill factor of around 0.6.
B. Improvements in sensitizers: With reference to the various
novel dyes considered for the development of the DSSC cell, it
has been concluded that a remarkably high efficiency of 5.87%
and 6.90% has been achieved using D-A-pi-A indoline dyes. This
Fill factor type of dye, type XS45 and XS46 also gave Fill factor value very
close to 0.7.
0.83–0.86 C. Improvements in electrolyte: From the research papers
0.87–0.89 reviewed for the improvements in electrolyte of the DSSC, it
0.63–0.67
0.3–0.72
was observed that using different solution concentration of
copper iodide ions gave an efficiency varying from 4.1–5.1%.
D. Improvements in counter electrode: Incorporation of Pt in
counter electrodes and 3D –CE also showed notably good
efficiency in DSSC. Counter electrode fabricated using different
nanostructure approach has been able to attain efficiency as
high as 7.96%. Variations in the nanostructure of the counter
electrode could be brought about to bring about a leap in the
efficiency of the cells.
The DSSC co-invented by Michael Gratzel and Brian O’Regan in
1991 created a photovoltaic cell from low-to medium-purity
materials through low-cost processes, making use of 10 mm thick
TiO2 nano-particles as photoanode, a monolayer of a charge-
transfer dye to sensitize the film. But as the this third generation
solar cell gained popularity, researchers tried to bring about
improvements in the different components of the cell not only
by trying out novel materials for fabrication but also by changing
the available structures of the materials and compounds.
In a P–N junction solar cell, the semiconductor achieves the
function of light absorption and charge carrier separation and trans-
portation. While in DSSC these functions are separated, the bulk of the
semiconductor is used solely for charge transport, the photoelectrons
are provided from a separate photosensitive dye. Charge separation
occurs at the surfaces between the dye, semiconductor and electrolyte
(or organic hole transport materials). The DSSC has advantage over the
conventional solar PV in reference to its low cost, simple manufacturing
process and inexpensive raw materials. Even though DSSCs are
promising, issues with their handling have slowed their adoption.
The liquid electrolyte suffers from stability problems. Another draw-
back is linked with the usage of molecular dye. To fully utilize the
potential these cells offer, the dye needs to absorb from a broad part of
the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. Currently, there is a lack of organic
dyes capable of covering the EM spectrum. To develop this solar cell
further, research has produced numerous advancements to overcome
these problems and make DSSCs suitable for widespread utilization.
10. Scope for further research
All the above works have shown some significant improvement
in the working of the DSSC. There is still scope for further
improvement in the DSSC with respect to each of its components.
The DSSC if developed can be used as a flexible, low cost and
environment friendly solution for energy generation from solar
power. With improvements the DSSC can serve as a better
commercial product in the future. It has a fairly good potential
 V. Sugathan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52 (2015) 54–64
to be used in building integrated photo voltaic, due to the
transparent nature.
11. Conclusion
This review summarizes all attempts and work done to
improve the performance of the DSSC recently. The paper can
help researchers to compile and apply a few of the discussed
works, together to obtain a better efficient product. The review
suggested that if proper consideration is given to each of the four
components of the DSSC by using highly efficient materials and
techniques for the development, a highly efficient cell can be
fabricated which could be of high value on a commercial scale. The
recent developments put together can help to enhance the overall
power conversion efficiency of the DSSC. In the current scenario
DSSC is in the developmental phase, where a good amount of work
would be required to obtain a better efficiency. The maximum
electrical conversion efficiency of DSSCs attained is 13%, which is
still low in comparison to the conventional silicon based solar
cells. Also the life of the DSSC is a factor which holds back its
development and so serious research work would be required in
terms of enhancing the efficiency as well as the life of the DSSC.
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