KR102310354B1 - Insertable and dye-sensitized solar cell electrode - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a photoelectrode comprising a photoelectrode body and a photoelectrode layer formed on one surface of the photoelectrode body; a counter electrode including a counter electrode body disposed to face the other surface of the photoelectrode body and a counter electrode layer formed on the counter electrode body; A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode comprising an electrolyte impregnated into the photoelectrode and the counter electrode region, comprising: a photoelectrode terminal coupled to the photoelectrode so that the photoelectrode is electrically connected to the outside; and a counter electrode terminal coupled to the counter electrode so that the counter electrode is electrically connected to the outside, and a woven fiber wire is slanted so that the photo electrode and the counter electrode are inserted into the insertion target woven fabric, the photo electrode and the counter electrode The technical gist of it is that it is inserted and woven together with a weft yarn. Thereby, by weaving the photoelectrode and the counter electrode together with the woven fiber wire, it is possible to obtain an effect that can be inserted and woven together between the woven fabrics. In addition, it is possible to obtain the effect of preventing a short circuit between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode by disposing a short-circuit prevention insulating wire between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode.

Description

Insertable and dye-sensitized solar cell electrode

The present invention relates to a dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode, and relates to a dye-sensitized solar cell in which a photoelectrode and a counter electrode are woven together with a woven fiber wire to insert a woven electrode between the woven fabrics.

A dye-sensitized solar cell is a type of solar cell that generates chemical power by using the solar light absorbing ability of the dye. Generally, as shown in FIG. 1 , the anode 2, the dye , an electrolyte (3), a counter electrode (4), a conductive transparent electrode (5), an adhesive for sealing (6), and a lower glass substrate (7). Among them, the cathode 2 is an n-type oxide semiconductor having a wide band gap such as _{titanium dioxide (TiO 2} ), zinc oxide (ZnO), and tin dioxide (SnO ₂ ), which exist in the form of a nano-sized porous film. and a monomolecular layer of dye is adsorbed on this surface.

When sunlight is incident on the solar cell, electrons near the Fermi energy in the dye absorb solar energy and are excited to an unfilled upper level. At this time, the vacancy of the lower level from which the electrons escaped is filled again by providing electrons from the ions. The ions that donated electrons to the dye move to the counter electrode 4, which is the anode, and receive electrons. At this time, the counter electrode 4 of the anode serves as a catalyst for the redox reaction of ions in the electrolyte 3 to provide electrons to the ions in the electrolyte through the redox reaction on the surface.

Among the components of the dye-sensitized solar cell, the upper and lower glass substrates 1 and 7 are coated with a conductive transparent electrode 5 on the surface. As the conductive transparent electrode 5, fluorine-doped tin oxide (F-doped SnO ₂ , FTO) is mainly used, because FTO has low reactivity with the electrolyte 3 and is safe for long-term use. However, there is a problem that the dye-sensitized solar cell using the FTO-coated upper and lower glass substrates 1 and 7 cannot be used in applications that require bending the solar cell because it has no flexibility.

Therefore, there is a need for a dye-sensitized solar cell with flexibility, and as a prior art for this, 'a bendable solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same' is known in the Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2005-0064566. This prior art includes a bendable first conductive substrate; a semiconductor electrode including a nanoparticle oxide layer formed on the first conductive substrate; a second conductive substrate that is bendable; a counter electrode including a metal layer on which the second conductive substrate is formed; an electrolyte solution interposed between the semiconductor electrode and the counter electrode; and a transparent film.

However, although the prior art has flexibility, it is configured to use only a solar cell separately, and since it is a structure that cannot be inserted between woven fabrics while weaving a general woven fabric, the field of application is limited. In addition, when the electrolyte solution is exhausted because there is no separate isolation component between the nanoparticle oxide layer and the platinum layer, or even if the electrolyte solution is filled therein, the nanoparticle oxide layer and the platinum layer are in direct contact by bending by bending. Problems may arise.

Korean Patent Office Laid-Open Patent No. 10-2005-0064566 Korean Intellectual Property Office Registered Patent No. 10-1410814

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dye-sensitized solar cell in which a photoelectrode and a counter electrode are woven together with a woven fiber wire and the woven electrode can be inserted between the woven fabrics.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode for preventing a short between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode by disposing a short-circuit prevention insulating wire between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode.

The above object, the photoelectrode body, and a photoelectrode comprising a photoelectrode layer formed on one surface of the photoelectrode body; a counter electrode including a counter electrode body disposed to face the other surface of the photoelectrode body and a counter electrode layer formed on the counter electrode body; A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode comprising an electrolyte impregnated in the photoelectrode and the counter electrode region, comprising: a photoelectrode terminal coupled to the photoelectrode so that the photoelectrode is electrically connected to the outside; and a counter electrode terminal coupled to the counter electrode so that the counter electrode is electrically connected to the outside, and a woven fiber wire is slanted so that the photo electrode and the counter electrode are inserted into the insertion target woven fabric, the photo electrode and the counter electrode It is achieved by a dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode characterized in that it is inserted and woven together with a weft yarn.

Here, the photoelectrode body is a metal thin plate including a plurality of perforations, and is disposed between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode to further include a short-circuit prevention insulating wire to prevent a short between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode. Including, it is preferable that the short-circuit prevention insulating wire is woven with a slope.

In addition, the woven fiber wire or the short-circuit-resistant insulating wire is preferably a thermally stable fiber wire so that the photoelectrode layer can be formed by heat treatment on the photoelectrode after the photoelectrode is woven.

According to the above-described configuration of the present invention, the photoelectrode and the counter electrode are woven together with the woven fiber wire to obtain an effect that can be inserted and woven together between the woven fabrics.

In addition, it is possible to obtain the effect of preventing a short circuit between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode by disposing a short-circuit prevention insulating wire between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode.

1 is a front view of a solar cell according to the prior art;
2 is a front view of a solar cell according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a cross-sectional view of a solar cell according to the present invention;
4 is an SEM photograph of a solar cell according to the present invention;
5 is an SEM photograph of a solar cell having photoelectrode layers of different thicknesses;
6 and 7 are graphs showing energy conversion efficiency of a solar cell.

Hereinafter, a dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the solar cell 100 includes a photoelectrode 110 inserted into the woven fabric 10 , a counter electrode 130 spaced apart from the photoelectrode 110 and inserted, and a photoelectrode (110) and an electrolyte impregnated in the counter electrode (130).

The photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 are used in the same direction, that is, the weft yarn, and the woven fiber wire 11 is inserted into the loom at an angle, and then a woven fabric is formed using a general fiber weaving method. Here, the woven fiber wire 11 is a fiber wire constituting the insertion target woven fabric 10 into which the electrodes 110 and 130 are inserted, and after the photoelectrode 110 is inserted in the woven fabric 10, the photoelectrode layer 111. It is preferable that it is a thermally stable fiber wire so as to form a.

In the case of inserting and weaving the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 together with the woven fiber wire 11 as described above, the photoelectrode ( 110) and the counter electrode 130 are inserted and weaved, and after that, only the electrodes 110 and 130 are inserted in the desired area of the woven fabric 10 by woven with warp and weft yarns using only the woven fiber wire 11 again. The battery 100 may be configured in the woven fabric 10 . This is possible because the solar cell 100 of the present invention has flexibility.

Here, the woven fiber wire 11 is preferably selected from the group consisting of nylon fiber, glass fiber, polybenzoxazole fiber, aramid fiber, and mixtures thereof. not limited

The photoelectrode 110 inserted into the woven fabric 10 and woven together includes a photoelectrode body 113 made of a conductive material and a photoelectrode layer 111 formed on one surface of the photoelectrode body 113 . The photoelectrode body 113 includes a plurality of perforations so that the electrolyte can easily pass therethrough, and is preferably made of a ribbon or a thin metal plate.

The photoelectrode layer 111 formed on one surface of the photoelectrode body 113 is woven so as not to face the counter electrode 130 so as to receive sunlight. The photoelectrode layer 110 may be inserted and woven after being formed in advance in the photoelectrode body 113 , but in some cases, after the photoelectrode body 113 is woven into the woven fabric 10 , the photoelectrode body 113 is placed on top of the photoelectrode body 113 . An electrode layer 111 may be formed. The photoelectrode layer 111 is preferably formed through paste application, electroplating, doctor blade, screen printing, or vacuum deposition.

In addition, the photoelectrode body 113 made of a conductive material is preferably a metal such as titanium (Ti) or stainless steel, and the photoelectrode layer 111 _{is preferably titanium dioxide (TiO 2} ), but this is not limited thereto.

The counter electrode 130 is woven to face the other surface of the photoelectrode body 113 on which the photoelectrode layer 111 is not formed. The counter electrode 130 includes a counter electrode body 133 and a counter electrode layer 131 formed on the counter electrode body 133 . Unlike the photoelectrode body 113 , the counter electrode body 133 is not limited in shape, such as a wire, a yarn, a ribbon, or a sheet shape, and can be woven into a desired shape. In addition, the counter electrode body 133 is titanium (Ti), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), tungsten (W), silver (Ag), stainless steel (Stainless steel), Hastelloy (Hastelloy) , Inconel (Inconel), Stellite (Stellite) and a mixture thereof is prepared using one selected from the group consisting of.

The counter electrode layer 131 may be formed on one surface like the photoelectrode layer 111 , but may be formed to surround the entire surface of the counter electrode body 133 . The counter electrode layer 131 is selected from the group consisting of platinum (Pt), carbon nanotubes (CNT), and mixtures thereof.

When the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 are inserted and woven in the same direction, a short may occur between the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 in some cases. In order to prevent this, it may further include a short-circuit prevention insulating wire 150 disposed between the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 to prevent a short circuit between the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 . At this time, it is preferable that the short-circuit-proof insulating wire 150 is slanted like the woven fiber wire 11, and the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 are inserted and woven using the weft yarns. The short-circuit-proof insulating wire 150 can be any wire that can be insulated, but like the woven fiber wire 11, a nylon fiber, a glass fiber, a polybenzoxazole fiber, It is preferably selected from the group consisting of aramid fibers and mixtures thereof.

In this way, when the short-circuit-proof insulating wire 150 is disposed between the photoelectrode 130 and the counter electrode 150, a pressure such as bending or bending the woven fabric 10 is applied, or the electrolyte escapes to the outside to increase the amount of electrolyte. Even if it becomes insufficient, a short circuit between the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 can be prevented.

Electrolyte is impregnated into regions of the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 to enable electron movement between the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 . The electrolyte is most preferably acetonitrile (Acetonitrile), but in addition to this, any electrolyte generally used in solar cells can be used without limitation. In order to prevent the electrolyte from leaking to the outside, a coating film is coated on the outer surfaces of the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 . Here, the coating film is preferably formed of a material that is flexible and does not pass through an electrolyte so as not to impair the flexibility of the fabric.

As such, when the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 are inserted into the woven fabric 10, the photoelectrode terminal 170 coupled to the photoelectrode 110 so that the photoelectrode 110 is electrically connected to the outside; The counter electrode terminal 190 coupled to the counter electrode 130 is inserted into the woven fabric 10 so that the counter electrode 130 is electrically connected to the outside. In some cases, when weaving the woven fabric 10, the photoelectrode terminal 170 and the counter electrode terminal 190 may be inserted together to weave.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail.

<Example>

8mm × 3mm stainless steel (Stainless steel 304, Tech-Etch microEtch ^® ) as a photoelectrode and carbon fiber filaments (Hyosung ^® ) as a counter electrode were prepared, and each was placed as a weft thread. Here, a transparent nylon wire (Nylon wire, D450 1/2, Hyunmin Fiber) was slanted between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode, and weaved them using a weaving frame.

At this time, the photoelectrode was immersed in acetone, ethanol and purified water (DI water), washed using a sonication, and dried under nitrogen gas. After washing, the photoelectrode surface was oxidized under air at 480°C for 1 hour. After surface oxidation, TiO ₂ paste containing nanoparticles of 20 nm was deposited on the surface of the photoelectrode using a screen printing (200mesh, stainless steel) process, and heated at 480° C. under air for 1 hour.

The counter electrode was washed and dried in the same way as the photoelectrode to remove impurities on the surface of the carbon fiber filament. Thereafter, the carbon fiber filaments _{were immersed in 20 mM H 2} PtCl _{6 ·} H ₂ O aqueous solution (Sigma aldrich), and the aqueous solution was heated at 400° C. for 30 minutes under air to deposit platinum particles on the surface of the carbon fiber filaments.

After processing the photoelectrode and the counter electrode in this way, the photoelectrode, the counter electrode, and the short-circuit-proof insulating wire were weaved through a loom to prepare a woven body. This woven body was immersed in an ethanol solution containing N719 dye (Solaronix) at room temperature for 20 hours. Then, an acetonitrile-based electrolyte (Solarnix, Iodolyte-AN50) was injected into the woven body to manufacture a solar cell. The solar cell in which the electrode is inserted and woven through this method can be confirmed through the SEM photograph shown in FIG. 4 .

For an experiment to confirm the effect according to the thickness of the photoelectrode layer made of titanium dioxide (TiO ₂ ), the counter electrode was masked with a 10mm×5mm size 3M tape on FTO glass, and this was under air at 400°C for 30 minutes. Deposited by immersion in 20mM H ₂ PtCl _{6 ·} H _{2 O aqueous solution.} In order to prevent an electrical short between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode and to maintain the electrolyte, Hanji was used as a spacer.

The surface of the photoelectrode layer was observed through FE-SEM (Field-emission scanning electron microscopy), and the energy conversion efficiency was measured using a solar simulator (Solar simulator, Abet Technologies, model Sun 2000, 1000 W Xe source, Keithley 2400 source meter). to confirm.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the energy conversion efficiency was measured by forming the photoelectrode layer to be 1.7 μm, 4.7 μm, and 8.0 μm, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the energy conversion efficiency was the best when the thickness was 4.7 μm. As the thickness increases, the amount of electrons generated in the photoelectrode layer increases, but the amount of electrons escapes to the outside and flows into the electrolyte. Therefore, it is confirmed that the energy conversion efficiency of the photoelectrode layer of 4.7 μm, which has the smallest amount of leakage into the electrolyte and the largest amount generated from the photoelectrode layer, has the best energy conversion efficiency.

In this way, when a short-circuit-resistant insulating wire is placed between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode and weaved with the wire to be woven, the solar cell has flexibility, so it can be easily woven into the woven fabric, and the solar cell can be woven at the desired position in the woven fabric. can If it is possible to weave a solar cell at a desired position in a woven fabric, the solar cell can be applied to various areas. In addition, since the short-circuit prevention insulating wire is disposed between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode, short circuit between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode can be prevented even when external pressure is applied such as bending the solar cell.

10: weave
11: Woven fiber wire
100: dye-sensitized solar cell
110: photoelectrode
111: photoelectrode layer
113: photoelectrode body
130: counter electrode
131: counter electrode layer
133: counter electrode body
150: short circuit insulation wire
170: photoelectrode terminal
190: counter electrode terminal

Claims (9)

A photoelectrode comprising a photoelectrode body and a photoelectrode layer formed on one surface of the photoelectrode body; a counter electrode body disposed to face the other surface of the photoelectrode body; and a counter electrode layer formed on the counter electrode body In the dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode comprising an electrode; and an electrolyte provided between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode,
a photoelectrode terminal coupled to the photoelectrode so that the photoelectrode is electrically connected to the outside; and
a counter electrode terminal coupled to the counter electrode so that the counter electrode is electrically connected to the outside; and
It further includes; a short-circuit prevention insulating wire disposed between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode to prevent a short between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode,
Dye capable of inserting an electrode, characterized in that the photoelectrode and the counter electrode are inserted and woven together by using the woven fiber wire and the short-circuit-proof insulating wire as a warp and the photoelectrode and the counter electrode as a weft so that the photoelectrode and the counter electrode are inserted into the fabric to be inserted. Sensitive solar cell. The method of claim 1,
The photoelectrode body is a dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode, characterized in that the metal thin plate including a plurality of perforations. delete The method of claim 1,
The woven fiber wire or the short-circuit-resistant insulating wire is,
A dye-sensitized embodiment capable of inserting an electrode, characterized in that it is selected from the group consisting of nylon fiber, glass fiber, polybenzoxazole fiber, aramid fiber, and mixtures thereof battery. The method of claim 1,
The woven fiber wire or the short-circuit-resistant insulating wire is,
A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode, characterized in that it is a heat-stable fiber wire that can be formed by heat treatment of the photoelectrode layer on the photoelectrode after the photoelectrode is woven. The method of claim 1,
A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode, characterized in that it further comprises a coating film coated on the outer surfaces of the photoelectrode and the counter electrode to prevent leakage of the electrolyte. The method of claim 1,
The photoelectrode body,
It is selected from the group consisting of titanium (Ti), stainless steel and mixtures thereof,
The photoelectrode layer,
A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode, characterized in that it is made of titanium dioxide (TiO _{2 ).} The method of claim 1,
The counter electrode body,
A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode, characterized in that it is formed in a wire, yarn, ribbon or sheet shape. The method of claim 1,
The counter electrode body,
Carbon (C), titanium (Ti), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), tungsten (W), silver (Ag), stainless steel, Hastelloy, Inconel ( Inconel), Stellite (Stellite) and selected from the group consisting of mixtures thereof,
The counter electrode is
A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an electrode, characterized in that it is selected from the group consisting of platinum (Pt), carbon nanotube (CNT), and mixtures thereof.

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