A Solar Cell That Is Triggered by Sun and Rain. (21st March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tang, Qunwei; Wang, Xiaopeng; Yang, Peizhi; He, Benlin
• Is Part Of: Angewandte Chemie. Volume 128:Number 17(2016)
• Page Start: 5329
• Page End: 5332
• Publication Date: 2016-03-21
• Subjects: Energieumwandlung -- Gegenelektroden -- Graphenelektroden -- Wetterunabhängige Solarzellen; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540
• DOI: 10.1002/ange.201602114
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0044-8249

Abstract

Abstract: All‐weather solar cells are promising in solving the energy crisis. A flexible solar cell is presented that is triggered by combining an electron‐enriched graphene electrode with a dye‐sensitized solar cell. The new solar cell can be excited by incident light on sunny days and raindrops on rainy days, yielding an optimal solar‐to‐electric conversion efficiency of 6.53 % under AM 1.5 irradiation and current over microamps as well as a voltage of hundreds of microvolts by simulated raindrops. The formation of π‐electron|cation electrical double‐layer pseudocapacitors at graphene/raindrop interface is contributable to current and voltage outputs at switchable charging–discharging process. The new concept can guide the design of advanced all‐weather solar cells.