Dye sensitized solar cells

g2e glass2energy SA

Incorporated

14.11.2011

Headquarters

Villaz-St-Pierre

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Glass 2 Energy Ltd, a newly established Swiss company, has acquired a DSC licence of a new type of photovoltaic cell, based on advances made by Professor Grätzel of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).

The technology of dye synthesized solar cells is often referred to as artificial photosynthesis, analogous to chlorophyll in leafs, where a sensitized dye absorbs light and generates excited electrons. These electrons are injected into and transported via the conduction band of a high surface area semiconductor. These cells are thin film devices that use a nanocrystalline carrier layer made of titanium dioxide (TiO2) whose surface is chemically bonded with a monolayer of light-absorbing dye molecules. A small amount of gel electrolyte is used for the transport of the carriers.