| dc.description.abstract | Solar energy has become one of the major sources of renewable energy and is a viable economic
option in areas which receive a large amount of sunlight around the year, such as the state of
Kansas. However, it currently relies on ultra-pure silicon ingots to produce commercial silicon
photovoltaics, which prevents the cost of electricity being produced to compete with nonrenewable
energy production. A viable low cost alternative for silicon based cells would be dyesensitized
solar cells (DSSC), which are easier and cheaper to manufacture as they do not require
expensive and delicate raw materials to make, while they could be made semi-flexible which allows
for a greater variety of applications for these cells. A DSSC consists three components, a photoelectrode,
an electrolyte and a counter-electrode. When exposed to incident light, the
photoelectrode releases an electron which is transported to the external load, leaving the
photoelectrode in an oxidized state. The electrons are collected by the counter electrode and used
to reduce the electrolyte. This charged electrolyte then reduces the positively charged photoelectrode,
allowing the process to begin again. To improve the efficiency of this process, we
explore the use of Bismuth Sulfide and Titanium Oxide composite as photo-electrode material by
testing it in varying ratios and studying their impact on the efficiency of DSSC. | |
