Nanocrystalline Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Kit

We have developed a prototype solar (photovoltaic, or PV) cell kit, using natural dyes extracted from berries. This solar cell kit can provide an interdisciplinary context for students learning the basic principles of biological extraction, chemistry, physics, environmental science and electron transfer. It is based on nanocrystalline dye-sensitized solar cells that use an organic dye to absorb incoming light to produce excited electrons. Sol Ideas transferred the skills necessary to understand and further develop this prototype educational kit to the Institute for Chemical Education (ICE), so that the kit could be provided to schools and to teachers. It is ICE that manufactures and distributes the resulting product. It should be noted that the ICE kit is not designed to be used without the help and guidance of an adult who understands basic chemical safety practices. Browse through the following pages, to see -- A diagram showing how the dye sensitized solar cell works. Components for the Nanocrystalline Solar Cell Procedure Photos illustrating teachers coating their own glass plates with titanium dioxide. A brief summary of instructions on how to build your own solar cell (in various languages). The summary is only meant to be an overview of the portion of the experiment that follows the coating of the conductive glass with the TiO. If you have further questions, then see the published articles. Photos of the finished cells. Photographs of a typical student lab set-up used to explore the solar cell.

Exploratorium Solar Cell  Nanocrystalline Solar Cell:  Postdocs at the Exploratorium in San Francisco successfully used the kit's procedure to teach basic science and communicated solar energy concepts to a wide audience. More... Download >>

The result of the procedure is a solar cell that lasts no longer than a few months, but yet it can provide insights into basic chemical, biological and environmental processes. It is therefore a teaching tool, and not a practical photovoltaic power module. The dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) technology was developed in the early 1990s at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), where Sol Ideas founder Greg P. Smestad received his Ph.D. Its central technical challenge stems from the fact that it is difficult to seal the liquid electrolyte in, and keep atmospheric gases (like water and O) out, over the 10-15 year lifetime of the device necessary for economic viability as a power source. The dye in the TiO DSSC solar cell also degrades unless special Ru-bpy dyes are used. For more about the economics of PV, one can refer to several sources, such as Optoelectronics of Solar Cells. Researchers, such as those at the EPFL, and several companies are working on solid state and ionic liquid electrolytes, as well as sealing methods, to improve the longevity of this thin film PV technology. For more on these topics, visit our links and information page, and go to our publications page.

The main purpose of the educational procedure described at this web site is to allow anyone, in any country, to explore the basic operating principle of the dye sensitized solar cell. It can inspire a new generation of researchers, while teaching the basic principles of solar energy, chemistry, physics, biology and environmental policy.

Some external sources of information:

• Watch a movie on how to construct the solar cell
  
  
• The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland
  
  
• Nanocrystalline Solar Cell technology
  
  
• Solar Energy Projects by Gavin D J Harper
  
  
• Exploratorium Solar Experiments
  
  
• Institute of Chemical Education Solar Cell Kit