KR101272781B1 - Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell And Method Of Fabricating The Same - Google Patents

Abstract

Dye-sensitized solar cells which do not use transparent conductive oxides as light-receiving substrates and methods for producing the same are provided. The dye-sensitized solar cell includes a top electrode layer having through holes and disposed between the lower electrode layer and the photoelectric conversion unit and a support disposed between the lower electrode layer and the light receiving substrate. The support may be an insulating porous membrane.

Description

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell and Manufacturing Method Thereof {Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell And Method Of Fabricating The Same}

The present invention relates to a solar cell, and more particularly to a dye-sensitized solar cell and a manufacturing method thereof.

Solar cells are photovoltaic energy conversion systems that convert light energy emitted from the sun into electrical energy. Currently used silicon solar cells utilize pn junction diodes formed in silicon for the photoelectric energy conversion, but in order to prevent premature recombination of electrons and holes, the silicon used is high. Should have purity and low defects. This technical requirement leads to an increase in the cost of materials used, so that silicon solar cells have a high manufacturing cost per power.

In addition, since only photons with energy above the band gap contribute to the generation of current, the silicon of the silicon solar cell is doped to have as low a bandgap as possible. However, because of this lowered bandgap, the excited electrons excited by blue light or ultraviolet light have excessive energy and are consumed as heat rather than contributing to current production. Also, in order to increase the likelihood of photon capturing, the p-type layer must be thick enough, but such thick p-type layers may cause holes and electrons to reach the pn junction before the excited electrons reach the pn junction. Because of the increased likelihood of recombination, the efficiency of silicon solar cells stays around approximately 7-15%.

Michael Gratzel, Mohammad K. Nazeeruddin and Brian O'Regan, on the other hand, rely on the principle of photosynthetic reactions, known as Grazelzel cells in 1991. A dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) based on the present invention has been proposed. Dye-sensitized solar cells with prototypes of Gratzel cells are photoelectrochemical systems that use dyes and transition metal oxide films instead of p-n junction diodes for photoelectric energy conversion. Such dye-sensitized solar cells are inexpensive to manufacture and simple to manufacture, and thus are inexpensive to manufacture compared to silicon solar cells. Therefore, when the energy conversion efficiency of the dye-sensitized solar cell is increased, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost per power compared to the silicon solar cell.

One technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a dye-sensitized solar cell that can reduce the manufacturing cost.

One technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a dye-sensitized solar cell that can increase the transmittance of incident light.

One technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell that can reduce the manufacturing cost.

One technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell that can increase the transmittance of incident light.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the present invention provides a dye-sensitized solar cell that does not use a transparent conductive oxide as a light receiving substrate. The dye-sensitized solar cell includes a photovoltaic conversion part disposed between a lower electrode layer and a light receiving substrate, an upper electrode layer disposed between the lower electrode layer and the photoelectric conversion part with through holes, and an upper surface of the lower electrode layer. A catalyst layer disposed between the lower and upper electrode layers to cover the gap, and an electrolytic solution disposed between the catalyst layer and the light receiving substrate while filling the through holes. In this case, a supporter is disposed between the lower electrode layer and the light-receiving substrate, the support is an insulating porous membrane, and the electrolyte is impregnate with the support.

The support may be disposed between the catalyst layer and the upper electrode layer, disposed between the upper electrode layer and the light receiving substrate, or between the catalyst layer and the upper electrode layer and between the upper electrode layer and the light receiving substrate.

The light receiving substrate may be formed of a non-conductive transparent material, and the photoelectric conversion part may include a plurality of semiconductor particles and a plurality of dye materials attached to a surface of each of the semiconductor particles. . In example embodiments, the photoelectric converter may be spaced apart from the light receiving substrate. In addition, the upper and lower surfaces of the upper electrode layer may be substantially flat throughout, and the through holes may be regularly arranged in the upper electrode layer.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell that does not use a transparent conductive oxide as a light receiving substrate. The method includes preparing an upper electrode layer having through holes formed thereon, disposing the upper electrode layer having the through holes formed on the lower electrode layer, forming a photoelectric conversion unit on the upper electrode layer, and receiving the light on the photoelectric conversion unit. The method may include forming a substrate, forming a supporter between the lower electrode layer and the light receiving substrate, and impregnating an electrolyte solution in the support. In this case, the support may be formed of an insulating porous membrane.

The support may be disposed between the catalyst layer and the upper electrode layer, disposed between the upper electrode layer and the light receiving substrate, or between the catalyst layer and the upper electrode layer and between the upper electrode layer and the light receiving substrate.

The through holes may be formed in the upper electrode layer before attaching the upper electrode layer on the lower electrode layer, and the light receiving substrate may be formed of a non-conductive transparent material. The lower electrode layer and the upper electrode layer may be formed of a metal film, and the photoelectric conversion part may include a plurality of semiconductor particles and a plurality of dye materials attached to surfaces of the semiconductor particles.

According to one embodiment, prior to attaching the upper electrode layer on the lower electrode layer, forming a catalyst layer on the upper surface of the lower electrode layer, the lower portion of the upper electrode layer spaced apart from the lower electrode layer on the upper surface edge of the catalyst layer Forming an encapsulant, and forming an upper encapsulant that separates the light receiving substrate from the upper electrode layer at an edge of the upper surface of the upper electrode layer.

In example embodiments, preparing the upper electrode layer having the through holes may include preparing a metal layer and then patterning the metal layer using an etching mask. In this case, the etching mask may have openings defining positions at which the through holes are to be formed, and the openings may be formed in a regular space.

According to an embodiment, attaching the upper electrode layer on the lower electrode layer may be performed using a roll-to-roll process.

In the dye-sensitized solar cell according to the embodiments of the present invention, a light receiving substrate that does not include a transparent conductive oxide is used. Accordingly, the manufacturing cost of the dye-sensitized solar cell can be reduced, and the loss of transmittance of incident light can be minimized.

In addition, an upper electrode layer and a lower electrode layer constituting the electron circulation system of the dye-sensitized solar cell are disposed below the photoelectric conversion unit, and a support formed of a porous insulating material is disposed between the upper and lower electrode layers. The support contributes to preventing electrical shorts between the upper and lower electrodes, which can result from a variety of reasons.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments disclosed herein are provided so that the disclosure can be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

In this specification, when it is mentioned that a film is on another film or substrate, it means that it may be formed directly on another film or substrate, or a third film may be interposed therebetween. Further, in the drawings, the thicknesses of the films and regions are exaggerated for an effective explanation of the technical content. Also, while the terms first, second, third, etc. in various embodiments of the present disclosure are used to describe various regions, films, etc., these regions and films should not be limited by these terms . These terms are only used to distinguish any given region or film from another region or film. Thus, the membrane referred to as the first membrane in one embodiment may be referred to as the second membrane in another embodiment. Each embodiment described and exemplified herein also includes its complementary embodiment.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a dye-sensitized solar cell according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a dye-sensitized solar cell according to an embodiment of the present invention having a flexible characteristic, Figure 3 A perspective view illustrating an upper electrode layer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the dye-sensitized solar cell 100 according to the embodiments of the present invention includes a lower electrode layer 10, a light receiving substrate 70 disposed on the lower electrode layer 10, and the lower electrode layer 10. And a photoelectric conversion unit 50 disposed between the light receiving substrate 70 and an upper electrode layer 40 disposed between the photoelectric conversion unit 50 and the lower electrode layer 10. In addition, a catalyst layer 20 spaced apart from the upper electrode layer 40 is formed on an upper surface of the lower electrode layer 10, and a space between the catalyst layer 20 and the light receiving substrate 70 is an electrolyte solution 80. filled with an electrolyte solution.

The photoelectric conversion unit 50 may include a semiconductor material and a dye adsorbed on the surface of the semiconductor material. According to an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the photoelectric conversion unit 50 may include oxide semiconductor particles 52 and a dye material 54 adsorbed on the surfaces of the oxide semiconductor particles 52. Can be. The oxide semiconductor particles 52 may include titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), tin oxide (SnO ₂ ), zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ), silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ), magnesium oxide (MgO), and niobium oxide (Nb ₂ O). ₅ ) and metal oxides including transition metal oxides, such as zinc oxide (ZnO) and the like. The dye material 54 may be dye molecules such as ruthenium complexes that can convert light energy into electrical energy. For example, the dye material 54 may be N719 (Ru (dcbpy) 2 (NCS) 2 containing 2 protons), but may be at least one of a variety of known dyes such as N712, Z907, Z910 and K19.

The dye-sensitized solar cell 100 according to the embodiments of the present invention may have a flexible characteristic. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, even under an external force that may deform the appearance of the product, the dye-sensitized solar cell 100 may operate normally without substantial loss of function or damage to the product. According to these embodiments, the light receiving substrate 70, the lower electrode layer 10, and the upper electrode layer 40 may be formed of a thickness and a material capable of providing flexible characteristics.

More specifically, each of the lower electrode layer 10 and the upper electrode layer 40 may be a thin film or foil including at least one of metals and metal alloys. For example, in the type of material, the lower electrode layer 10 and the upper electrode layer 40 may be formed of titanium, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, or the like, but may be formed of various other metallic materials. According to a modified embodiment, the lower surface of the lower electrode layer 10 may be coated with an insulating thin film (not shown). In addition, the thicknesses of the lower electrode layer 10 and the upper electrode layer 40 may be selected within a thickness range of several micrometers to several millimeters so as to provide flexible characteristics, and more specific thickness of the material It may vary depending on the type of.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the light receiving substrate 70 is formed of only a transparent material without a transparent conductive oxide (TCO). For example, the light receiving substrate 70 may be formed of glass or a polymer film. As is known, the transparent substrate including the TCO can provide conductivity, but since the cost of the product is expensive, the dye-sensitized solar cell without using it can be manufactured at low manufacturing cost. According to one embodiment, the light receiving substrate 70 may be a transparent plastic film to have a flexible property.

The electrolyte 80 may be an iodine-based redox electrolyte. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the electrolyte 80 is 0.7M 1-vinyl-3-methyloctyl-imidazolium iodide (1-vinyl-3-hexyl-imidazolium iodide) and 0.1M LiI and may be an electrolytic solution of ^- ₂ to I (Iodine) of 40mM was dissolved in ₃ I 3-methoxy-propionitrile ^{(3-Methoxypropionitrile) - / I} . According to another embodiment of the present invention, the electrolyte 80 may be an acetonitrile solution containing 0.6M butylmethylimidazolium, 0.02M I2, 0.1M Guanidinium thiocyanate, 0.5M 4-tert-butylpyridine. However, one of various electrolytes not illustrated may be used for the dye-sensitized solar cell according to the present invention. For example, the electrolyte 80 may include alkylimidazolium iodides or tetra-alkyl ammoniumiodides, further comprising tert-butylpyridin (TBP), benzimidazole (BI) and N-Methylbenzimidazole (NMBI) as surface additives. It may include. In addition, acetonitrile, propionitrile or a mixture of acetonitrile and valeronitrile may be used as the solvent.

The catalyst layer 20 is in contact with the electrolyte 80 to participate in the reduction process of the electrolyte. According to an embodiment, when the electrolyte 80 is an iodine-based redox electrolyte, the catalyst layer 20 may be platinum (Pt) applied on the lower electrode layer 10.

When sunlight is incident on the photoelectric conversion unit 50 through the light receiving substrate 70, electrons of the dye material 54 are excited by the incident light to excite the oxide semiconductor particles 52. After being injected into a conduction band, it is reduced in the electrolyte 80 via the upper electrode layer 40, a predetermined load L, and the lower electrode layer 10. This process is called the electron circulation system of dye-sensitized solar cells.

On the other hand, in order to continuously perform the reduction process of the electrolyte or the electron circulation process of the dye-sensitized solar cell, the ions lost electrons in the photoelectric conversion unit 50 should be able to diffuse to the catalyst layer 20 where the reduction process occurs. do. To this end, according to embodiments of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, at least the upper electrode layer 40 disposed between the photoelectric conversion unit 50 and the catalyst layer 20 passes through it. It has one through hole 99.

According to one embodiment, the through holes 99 may be regularly arranged within a predetermined region of the upper electrode layer 40. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the relative position and distance between a predetermined through hole and adjacent through holes 99 may be represented by two non-parallel vectors a and b . The relative position and distance between other adjacent through holes can be equally represented by the two vectors a and b . As such, when the through holes 99 are regularly arranged in the upper electrode layer 40, the ions may be uniformly diffused into the catalyst layer 20. As a result, the reduction process can be performed uniformly and efficiently, so that the photovoltaic performance of the product can be improved.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the arrangement of all through holes 99 formed in the upper electrode layer 40 is substantially complete by a plurality of vector sets including a vector set consisting of predetermined vectors. Can be expressed. When the number of the vector sets defining the arrangement of the through holes 99 increases, the through holes 99 may be arranged with reduced regularity or randomly arranged. That is, according to embodiments of the present invention, the level of regularity in the arrangement of the through holes 99 may vary. The width of the through hole 99 may be smaller than or several times the average diameter of the oxide semiconductor particles 52. For example, the width of the through hole 99 may be about several nanometers to several centimeters. According to an embodiment, the oxide particles 52 may be formed to effectively block the through hole 99.

On the other hand, with respect to the thickness of the upper electrode layer 40, according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 3a, 4 to 9, the upper electrode layer 40 is It may be formed to have a substantially uniform thickness in all areas except the through holes 99. According to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3B, the upper electrode layer 40 may include at least one protrusion 45 extending from the upper surface thereof. However, the protrusion 45 may be variously modified from the embodiment shown in FIG. 3B. For example, the protrusion 45 may include at least one of a portion extending downward from a lower surface of the upper electrode layer 40 and a portion extending upward from an upper surface of the upper electrode layer 40. In addition, the position and thickness at which the protrusion 45 is disposed may also be variously modified.

In the method of forming the through holes 99 in the upper electrode layer 40, as illustrated in FIG. 4, etching the metal film for the upper metal layer 40 using a predetermined etching mask EM. (88). The etching mask EM may be formed of a reusable material (eg, a polymer compound or a ceramic) and may include openings 95 defining positions of the through holes 99. By using such a reusable etching mask, not only the preparation cost of the upper electrode layer 40 having the through holes 99 can be reduced, but also the positions of the through holes 99 can be manufactured. In all may be substantially the same. The reduction in positional variation of the through holes 99 may improve uniformity in product properties of the dye-sensitized solar cells to be manufactured.

5 to 9 are cross-sectional views illustrating dye-sensitized solar cells according to other embodiments of the present invention. For brevity of description, descriptions of technical features that overlap with the embodiments described with reference to FIG. 1 will be omitted.

5 to 7, supports 91 and 92 may be further disposed between the light receiving substrate 70 and the catalyst layer 20. Specifically, the lower support 91 is disposed between the catalyst layer 20 and the upper electrode layer 40 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, or the upper support 92 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. As shown, the upper electrode layer 40 may be disposed between the light receiving substrate 70. According to these embodiments, the width of the through hole 99 may be approximately several nanometers to several centimeters.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the lower support 91 may be a spacer that physically / electrically separates the upper electrode layer 40 from the catalyst layer 20. The lower support 91 may be formed of an insulating material (for example, glass, ceramic, and plastic), and the shape of the lower support 91 may be a ball and a bar, but the material of the lower support 91 may be used. And the shape can be variously modified. By the insulating lower support 91, direct contact (ie, electrical short) between the catalyst layer 20 and the upper electrode layer 40 may be prevented, and the catalyst layer 20 and the upper electrode layer 40 may be prevented. The interval between them can be kept constant. Accordingly, even when an external force is applied to the light receiving substrate 70 or the lower electrode layer 10, product damage due to an electrical short can be prevented.

According to other embodiments of the present invention, the lower or upper supports 91 and 92 may be porous insulating materials. For example, the lower or upper supports 91 and 92 may be a polymer or ceramic having fine pores (not shown). According to these embodiments, the electrolyte 80 may be interposed between the light receiving substrate 70 and the catalyst layer 20 while filling the absorption holes of the lower or upper supports 91 and 92. That is, the electrolyte 80 may be impregnate the lower or upper supports 91 and 92.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the lower support 91 may include a space between the oxide semiconductor particles 52 and the upper electrode layer 40 and the catalyst layer 20 or an upper surface of the catalyst layer 20. And to substantially prevent movement to For example, the width of the absorbing holes of the lower support 91 may be substantially equal to or smaller than the size of the oxide semiconductor particle 52. However, the movement of the oxide semiconductor particles may depend on the arrangement of the absorbing holes and the adhesion property between the oxide semiconductor particles. In this regard, the absorption holes of the lower support 91 according to another embodiment may have a width larger than the size of the oxide semiconductor particles 52.

According to one embodiment, the absorption holes of the lower support 91 may be continuously connected so that the ions lost electrons in the photoelectric conversion unit 50 can be diffused into the catalyst layer 20 where the reduction process occurs.

Referring to FIG. 8, according to modified embodiments of the present invention, the through holes 99 may be provided by the upper electrode layer 40 having a structure different from that of the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 3. have. For example, the upper electrode layer 40 may be a mesh structure including intercrossed and woven wires, a sintered structure in which powders are connected to each other, and a porous metallic material.

According to these modified embodiments, the upper surface or the lower surface of the upper electrode layer 40 may not be locally flat. That is, the thickness of the upper electrode layer 40 may vary depending on the position, and the non-uniformity of the thickness may also appear between the upper and lower encapsulants 60 and 30. In this case, when the adhesion characteristics between the upper and lower encapsulants 60 and 30 and the upper electrode layer 40 are not good, a defect in which the electrolyte 80 leaks to the outside may occur. In contrast, according to the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7, the upper and lower encapsulants 60 are formed in that the upper electrode layer 40 is a flat film throughout. , 30 may be firmly adhered to the upper electrode layer 40, so that the outflow of the electrolyte 80 may be suppressed.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the through holes 99 are formed in the edge region of the upper electrode layer 40, which is interposed between the upper and lower encapsulants 60 and 30. It may not be. That is, the edge region of the upper electrode layer 40 may be a flat film without the through hole 99. In this case, the non-uniformity of the thickness of the upper electrode layer 40 and the outflow of the electrolyte 80, which may appear in the modified embodiments described above, may be further suppressed.

In addition, according to the modified embodiments described above, in order to finely form the through holes formed in the upper electrode layer 40, an expensive manufacturing technique is required. For example, in the case of the mesh structure, in order to form the through-holes in a fine size, not only the number of wires constituting the same rapidly increases, but also it is difficult to control each of the wires in a weaving process. In contrast, according to the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7, the patterning process of forming the through holes 99 may be performed by repeatedly using the etching mask EM, which is relatively inexpensive. It may include. Accordingly, the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 make it possible to manufacture a transparent conductive oxide free dye-sensitized solar cell (TCO-less DSC) at low cost.

According to another modified embodiment, the upper electrode layer 40 may be a conductive film having nano-sized through holes or a conductive film including a nano tube providing a through hole. Since these other modified implementations also require expensive manufacturing techniques, the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 are inexpensive transparent conductive oxide free dye-sensitized embodiments compared to these other modified embodiments. It is possible to make a cell (TCO-less DSC).

10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, the catalyst layer 20 and the lower encapsulant 30 are respectively formed on the lower electrode layer 10 (S1 and S2). Independently of these steps, after preparing a metal film, the metal film is patterned to prepare an upper electrode layer 40 having at least one through hole 99 (S3 and S4).

Subsequently, the upper electrode layer 40 is attached on the lower encapsulant 30 (S5), a photoelectric conversion unit 50 is formed on the upper electrode layer 40 (S6), and the upper electrode layer 40 The upper encapsulant 60 surrounding the photoelectric conversion unit 50 is formed on the upper encapsulation member 50 (S7), and the non-conductive transparent light-receiving substrate 70 is formed on the upper encapsulant 60 (S8). . After the electrolyte solution 80 is injected between the light receiving substrate 70 and the catalyst layer 20 (S9), a sealing process is performed (S10).

According to this embodiment, the step (S4) of patterning the metal film may include the step (88) of etching the metal film using a predetermined etching mask (EM), as shown in FIG. The etching mask EM may be formed of a reusable material and may include openings 95 defining positions of the through holes 99. Accordingly, the manufacturing cost of the dye-sensitized solar cell can be reduced as well as the position of the through holes 99 can be substantially the same in all of the dye-sensitized solar cells to be manufactured. The reduction in positional variation of the through holes 99 may improve uniformity in product properties of the dye-sensitized solar cells to be manufactured.

Etching the metal film 88 may be performed using at least one of an isotropic or anisotropic etching method. For example, after the etching mask EM is disposed on the metal layer, the through holes penetrating the metal layer may be formed by wet etching the metal layer. In the above-described modified embodiments in which the upper electrode layer 40 is formed of a mesh structure, a sintered body and a porous metallic material, a conductive film having nano-sized through holes, or a conductive film including a nano tube providing a through hole. In contrast, this method of etching makes it possible to form the upper electrode layer 40 having the through holes 99 at a low cost.

Since the upper electrode layer 40 is prepared independently of the lower electrode layer 10, the step of attaching the upper electrode layer 40 on the lower encapsulant 30 (S5) may be performed using a roll-to-roll ( roll-to-roll). According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the lower electrode layer 10, the catalyst layer 20, the lower encapsulant 30, the upper encapsulant 60, and the light-receiving substrate 70 may also be a roll-. It can be formed using a two-roll technique. Since the roll-to-roll technique does not require an expensive deposition process, the dye-sensitized solar cell according to the present invention can be manufactured at a reduced cost.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the through holes 99 may not be formed in the edge region of the upper electrode layer 40, which is interposed between the upper and lower encapsulants 60 and 30. . To this end, the etching of the metal film 88 may be performed to selectively / locally etch the metal film in regions where the photoelectric converter 50 is to be formed. In this case, as described above, the nonuniformity of the thickness of the upper electrode layer 40 and the outflow of the electrolyte 80 may be effectively suppressed.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating methods of manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell according to other embodiments of the present invention. FIG. For brevity of description, descriptions of technical features that overlap with the embodiments described with reference to FIG. 10 will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 11, in the manufacturing method according to the exemplary embodiment, before attaching the upper electrode layer 40 to the lower encapsulant 30 (S5), the lower support 91 may be disposed on the catalyst layer 20. Forming step (A1) may be further included. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the lower support 91 is disposed between the catalyst layer 20 and the upper electrode layer 40. As described above, in this case, the lower support 91 prevents the oxide semiconductor particles 52 from moving to the space between the upper electrode layer 40 and the catalyst layer 20 or the catalyst layer 20. And a gap between the upper electrode layer 40 and the upper electrode layer 40 may be maintained. According to a modified embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the manufacturing method may include forming an upper support 92 on the photoelectric converter 50 before forming the light receiving substrate 70 (S8). A2) may be further included.

The lower or upper supports 91 and 92 may be a porous insulating material (eg, a polymer material or ceramic having fine absorbing pores (not shown)). According to these embodiments, the electrolyte 80 may be interposed between the light receiving substrate 70 and the catalyst layer 20 while being impregnated in the lower or upper supports 91 and 92. Absorbing holes of the lower support 91 may be continuously connected so that ions having lost electrons in the photoelectric converter 50 may be diffused into the catalyst layer 20 in which a reduction process occurs.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 12, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the step of forming the photoelectric conversion unit 50 on the upper electrode layer 40 is the upper on the lower encapsulant 30 It may be carried out before attaching the electrode layer 40. This change in the formation order can be equally applied to the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 10.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a dye-sensitized solar cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing a dye-sensitized solar cell according to an embodiment of the present invention having flexible characteristics.

3A and 3B are perspective views illustrating an upper electrode layer according to embodiments of the present invention.

4 is a view showing a method of forming an upper electrode layer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 to 9 are cross-sectional views illustrating dye-sensitized solar cells according to other embodiments of the present invention.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating methods of manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell according to other embodiments of the present invention. FIG.

12 is a flow chart showing the manufacturing method of the dye-sensitized solar cell according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings>

10: lower electrode layer 20: catalyst layer

30: lower encapsulant 40: upper electrode layer

50: photoelectric conversion unit 52: oxide semiconductor particles

54: Dye 60: Upper Encapsulant

70: light receiving substrate 80: electrolyte

91: lower support 92: upper support

99: through hole L: load

Claims (21)

A photovoltaic conversion part disposed between the lower electrode layer and the light receiving substrate; An upper electrode layer having through holes and disposed between the lower electrode layer and the photoelectric conversion unit; A catalyst layer disposed between the lower and upper electrode layers while covering an upper surface of the lower electrode layer; And Dye-sensitized solar cell comprising an electrolytic solution (electrolytic solution) disposed between the catalyst layer and the light receiving substrate. The method according to claim 1, The upper electrode layer is a dye-sensitized solar cell, characterized in that the metal foil (metal foil) having a uniform thickness in the region other than the through holes. The method according to claim 2, And the upper electrode layer further comprises at least one protruding region extending from at least one of an upper surface and a lower surface thereof. The method according to claim 1, Dye-sensitized solar cell, characterized in that the minimum spacing between the through holes is wider than the minimum width of the through holes. The method according to claim 1, The dye-sensitized solar cell further comprises an insulating supporter disposed between the lower electrode layer and the light receiving substrate. The method of claim 5, The support is a porous membrane, the electrolyte is dye-sensitized solar cell, characterized in that the impregnate (impregnate) to the support. The method of claim 5, And the support is formed between at least one of the catalyst layer and the upper electrode layer and between the upper electrode layer and the light receiving substrate. The method according to claim 1, A lower encapsulant disposed at an edge of the upper surface of the lower electrode layer; And Further comprising an upper encapsulant disposed on the upper edge of the upper electrode layer, The through-holes are dye-sensitized solar cell, characterized in that formed in the upper electrode layer excluding the region between the lower encapsulant and the upper encapsulant. The method according to claim 1, The photosensitive substrate is a dye-sensitized solar cell, characterized in that formed only of non-conductive material. The method according to claim 1, The upper electrode layer is a dye-sensitized solar cell, characterized in that at least one of a conductive film comprising a sintered structure (powdered metal), a porous metallic material and nanotubes are connected to each other. Preparing an upper electrode layer having through holes formed therein; Disposing the upper electrode layer on which the through holes are formed; Forming a photoelectric conversion part on the upper electrode layer; Forming a light receiving substrate on the photoelectric conversion unit; And Method of manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell comprising the step of injecting an electrolyte between the light receiving substrate and the lower electrode layer. The method of claim 11, Preparing the upper electrode layer in which the through holes are formed Preparing a metal foil; And Etching the metal foil using an etch mask having openings, And the positions of the through holes are defined by openings of the etch mask. The method of claim 12, And etching the metal foil comprises wet etching at least one of an upper surface and a lower surface of the metal foil. The method of claim 11, And the through holes are formed in the upper electrode layer before attaching the upper electrode layer on the lower electrode layer. The method of claim 11, At least one of the lower electrode layer and the upper electrode layer is a method of manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell, characterized in that formed using a roll-to-roll process. The method of claim 11, Before injecting the electrolyte, further comprising the step of forming an insulating support (supporter) between the lower electrode layer and the light receiving substrate, The insulating support is a method of manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell, characterized in that formed using a roll-to-roll process. 18. The method of claim 16, The support is formed of a porous membrane, the electrolyte is a method for producing a dye-sensitized solar cell, characterized in that the support is impregnated in the support. 18. The method of claim 17, The support is a method of manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell, characterized in that formed between the upper electrode layer and the light receiving substrate. The method of claim 11, The method of manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell, characterized in that the light receiving substrate is formed only of a non-conductive material. The method of claim 11, Before attaching the upper electrode layer on the lower electrode layer, forming a catalyst layer on an upper surface of the lower electrode layer; Forming a lower encapsulant that separates the upper electrode layer from the lower electrode layer at an edge of the upper surface of the catalyst layer; And Forming an upper encapsulant for separating the light receiving substrate from the upper electrode layer at an edge of an upper surface of the upper electrode layer; The through holes are formed in the upper electrode layer except for the region between the lower encapsulant and the upper encapsulant manufacturing method of a dye-sensitized solar cell. The method of claim 11, Forming the photoelectric conversion portion on the upper electrode layer is a method of manufacturing a dye-sensitized solar cell, characterized in that performed before or after the upper electrode layer on the lower electrode layer.

Images