Vol. 11, No.1, pp.56-59 (2017)
Improvement of Conversion Efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells by Surface Modification Using Microplasma
N. Konagaya1, M. Blajan2, T. Onodera3, A. Konno3,4, and K. Shimizu1,2,3,4
1Faculty of Engineering, Shizuoka University, Japan
2Organization for Innovation and Social Collaboration, Shizuoka University, Japan
3Graduate School of Engineering, Shizuoka University, Japan
4Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Japan
Abstract
The surface modification of film dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was carried out using atmospheric pressure microplasma in this study. The DSSCs consisted of Pt counter electrode, electrolytic solution, dye, titanium oxide (TiO2) layer and indium tin oxide (ITO) film electrode. The surfaces of TiO2 layer and ITO film were treated by argon microplasma generated by the film microplasma electrode. After treatment, The DSSCs were assembled and their properties measured by a solar cell evaluation system. The photo conversion efficiency was improved by 9 and 27% in comparison with the untreated samples. After microplasma treatment, it was observed using the contact angle measurement that the hydrophilic property of ITO film was improved. The amount of dye adsorption of TiO2 layer measured using a UV-VIS Spectrophotometer was increased after the microplasma treatment.
Keywords - Microplasma, dye sensitized solar cells, dielectric barrier discharge, surface modification