Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells - Low-cost Nanomaterials: Toward Greener and More Efficient Energy Applications - page 123

Fig. 26 Time evolution of published papers of hybrid perovskite solar cells (received date by the
journal) versus PCE reported profiles of record cells; (red) liquid electrolyte (black), solid
electrolyte
8.3 Conclusions
Despite the limited efficiencies obtained in the early stages of the study of
QDSSCs, the potentialities of semiconductor thin layer or quantum dots has
impelled the research on this devices in the last few years. We noted that the
problems of such devices are different in many respects to that happening in
DSSC, while both types of solar cells work according to the same principles. In
QDSSC, the sensitizer material can be prepared in several ways affecting the final
device performance. Photoanode nanostructure, hole transporting material, counter
electrode, and recombination processes (affected by semiconductor trapping states)
have to be optimized in order to enhance the reported efficiencies. As a result of
the intense work on QDSSCs a real breakthrough, with organometallic halide
perovskites, has occured very recently. Solar cells with efficiencies as high as
15 % are reported, and it looks that further increase will be attained soon. In
addition to the impressive efficiencies one of the strongest points of these new cells
is that they can be prepared from solution techniques, as the once developed for
QDSSCs, and consequently the production cost of the photovoltaic device can be
dramatically reduced.
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