KR102310356B1 - Insertable and dye-sensitized solar cell electrode for short circuit prevention - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention, a photoelectrode; a counter electrode including a counter electrode body spaced apart from the photoelectrode and a counter electrode layer formed on the counter electrode body; In the dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting a short-circuit prevention electrode comprising an electrolyte impregnated in the photoelectrode and the counter electrode region, the photoelectrode is a photoelectrode body in the form of a thin metal plate or a metal ribbon including a plurality of perforations Wow; a photoelectrode layer laminated on one surface of the photoelectrode body; a porous insulating layer coated on the other surface of the photoelectrode body to face the counter electrode; And the technical gist is that the woven fiber wire is inserted and woven together with the 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, the effect of preventing a short circuit between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode can be obtained by coating the porous insulating layer on the surface opposite to the surface on which the photoelectrode layer is formed in the ribbon or thin plate type photoelectrode body.

Description

Dye-sensitized solar cell electrode for short circuit prevention {Insertable and dye-sensitized solar cell electrode for short circuit prevention}

The present invention relates to a dye-sensitized solar cell in which a short-circuit prevention electrode can be inserted, and more particularly, a photoelectrode and a counter electrode are woven together with a woven fiber wire to be inserted and woven together between the woven fabrics, and the woven photoelectrode and the counter electrode are woven together. It relates to a dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting a short-circuit prevention electrode that prevents a short circuit between electrodes.

A dye-sensitized solar cell is a type of solar cell that generates chemical power by using the solar light absorption ability of a dye. Generally, as shown in FIG. 1 , the upper glass substrate 1 and the upper glass substrate 1 are and a cathode (2), a 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 composed of an n-type oxide semiconductor having a wide bandgap such as _{titanium dioxide (TiO 2} ), zinc oxide (ZnO), and tin dioxide (SnO ₂ ) existing in the form of a nano-sized porous film, 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 dye-sensitized solar cell components, 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, tin oxide (F-doped SnO ₂ , FTO) doped with fluorine (F) is mainly used, because FTO has low reactivity with the electrolyte 3 and is safe even for long-term use. . However, the dye-sensitized solar cell using the FTO-coated upper and lower glass substrates 1 and 7 has a problem in that it is not flexible, so its use is limited in applications that require bending the solar cell.

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. The prior art includes a first conductive substrate and a second conductive substrate that are bendable; a semiconductor electrode including a nanoparticle oxide layer formed on the first conductive substrate; a counter electrode including a metal layer formed on the second conductive substrate; 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 solar cells separately, and has a structure that cannot be inserted between woven fabrics while weaving a general woven fabric, thereby limiting the field of application. In addition, when a solar cell is manufactured using weaving, since there is no separate isolation component between the photoelectrode layer and the counter electrode layer, the electrolyte solution is consumed or the photoelectrode layer and the platinum layer come into direct contact by bending. .

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 a short-circuit prevention electrode capable of being inserted and woven together between the woven fabrics can be inserted.

In addition, in a ribbon or thin plate type photoelectrode body, a porous insulating layer is coated on the opposite side of the side on which the photoelectrode layer is formed to prevent a short circuit between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode. will be.

The above object, the photoelectrode; a counter electrode including a counter electrode body spaced apart from the photoelectrode and a counter electrode layer formed on the counter electrode body; In the dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting a short-circuit prevention electrode comprising an electrolyte impregnated in the photoelectrode and the counter electrode region, the photoelectrode is a photoelectrode body in the form of a thin metal plate or a metal ribbon including a plurality of perforations Wow; a photoelectrode layer laminated on one surface of the photoelectrode body; a porous insulating layer coated on the other surface of the photoelectrode body to face the counter electrode; and a dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an anti-short electrode, characterized in that the woven fiber wire is inserted and woven together with the weft.

Here, the porous insulating layer is made of porous ceramics or porous polymers, and the porous ceramics are silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ), titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ) , preferably selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O _{3 ) and mixtures thereof.}

In addition, the porous insulating layer is preferably coated using spray coating, dip coating, or spin coating.

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, the effect of preventing a short circuit between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode can be obtained by coating the porous insulating layer on the surface opposite to the surface on which the photoelectrode layer is formed in the ribbon or thin plate type photoelectrode body.

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 photoelectrode according to the present invention.

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

As shown in FIG. 2 , 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 woven fiber wire 11 are used as weft yarns, and the counter electrode 130 and the woven fiber wire 11 are used at an angle to be inserted into the loom, and then the woven fabric 10 is formed using a general fiber weaving method. . Here, the woven fiber wire 11 is a fiber wire constituting an area excluding the electrodes 110 and 130 among the woven fabric 10 to be inserted into which the electrodes 110 and 130 are inserted. The woven fiber wire 11 is preferably a thermally stable fiber wire so that the photoelectrode layer 111 can be formed after the photoelectrode 110 is inserted into the woven fabric 10 . 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

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 woven. After that, the solar cell 100 can be configured in the woven fabric 10 so that the electrodes are placed only in a desired area of the woven fabric 10 by woven again using only the woven fiber wire 11 with warp and weft yarns. This is possible because the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 of the present invention have flexibility.

The photoelectrode 110 inserted into the woven fabric 10 and woven together includes a photoelectrode body 113 made of a conductive material, a photoelectrode layer 111 formed on one surface of the photoelectrode body 113, and a photoelectrode body ( 113) and a porous insulating layer 115 formed on the other surface.

The photoelectrode body 113 is formed in the shape of a metal thin plate or metal ribbon including a plurality of perforations 117 to allow the electrolyte to pass therethrough. When the photoelectrode body 113 is formed in the form of a metal wire or a metal yarn, not a metal sheet or metal ribbon, even if the porous insulating layer 115 is formed It is difficult to fix the positions and directions of the photoelectrode layer 111 and the porous insulating layer 115, so that the porous insulating layer 115 does not perform its functions. As such, the photoelectrode body 113 made of a conductive material is preferably made of a metal such as titanium (Ti) or stainless steel.

The photoelectrode layer 111 formed on one surface of the photoelectrode body 113 is woven so as to face the counter electrode 130 and face the outside direction so as to receive sunlight. The photoelectrode layer 111 may be inserted and woven after being previously formed in the photoelectrode body 113 , and in some cases, after the photoelectrode body 113 is woven into the woven fabric 10 , on the upper portion of the photoelectrode body 113 . A photoelectrode 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 layer 111 _{is preferably titanium oxide (TiO 2} ), but is not limited thereto.

The porous insulating layer 115 formed on the other surface of the photoelectrode body 113 is disposed to face the counter electrode 130 . The porous insulating layer 115 is formed using a porous and insulating material, through which the electrolyte can penetrate between the porous insulating layer 115, and there is a short circuit between the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130. play a preventive role. When the porous insulating layer 115 is included in the photoelectrode 110 , a short circuit between the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 can be prevented even if a separate insulating member is not included. That is, it is possible to prevent a short circuit between the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 even if a pressure such as bending or bending is applied to the woven fabric 10 or the electrolyte is discharged to the outside and the amount of the electrolyte is insufficient. In addition, since the thickness can be reduced compared to when the insulating member is included, it is easy to form the woven fabric 10 .

The porous insulating layer 115 is preferably made of porous ceramics or porous polymers. In particular, in the case of porous ceramics, silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ), titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), zirconium oxide (ZrO _{2 )} ), aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ), and mixtures thereof are preferably selected. In addition, the porous insulating layer 115 is preferably coated using spray coating, dip coating, or spin coating.

The counter electrode 130 is woven into the woven fabric 10 so as to face the porous insulating layer 115 . The counter electrode 130 includes a counter electrode body and a counter electrode layer formed on the counter electrode body. Unlike the photoelectrode body 113, the counter electrode body is not limited in shape, such as a metal wire, a metal yarn, a metal ribbon, or a metal sheet shape. freely available. In addition, the counter electrode body is made of titanium (Ti), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), tungsten (W), silver (Ag), stainless steel, Hastelloy, and Inconel ( Inconel), Stellite (Stellite) and a mixture thereof is prepared using a selected from the group consisting of.

The counter electrode layer may be formed on only one surface like the photoelectrode layer 111, but may be formed to surround the entire surface of the counter electrode body. This is possible because a short circuit with the photoelectrode layer 111 can be prevented because the porous insulating layer 115 is formed on the photoelectrode 110 . As the counter electrode layer, a material selected from the group consisting of platinum (Pt), carbon nanotube (CNT), and mixtures thereof is used.

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, if the electrolyte is generally used in the solar cell 100, it 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, it is preferable that the coating film be formed of a material that is flexible so as not to impair the flexibility of the woven fabric 10, but does not allow the electrolyte to pass therethrough, so that there is no risk of leakage.

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

<Example 1>

Prepare 8mm×3mm stainless steel (Stainless steel 304, Tech-Etch microEtch ^® ) as the photoelectrode body. At this time, the photoelectrode body was immersed in acetone, ethanol, and purified water (DI water), washed using a sonication device, 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 is deposited on the photoelectrode surface using a screen printing (200mesh, stainless steel) process, and heated at 480°C for 1 hour under air. A photoelectrode layer was formed. The other surface of the photoelectrode body on which the photoelectrode layer is formed is coated using a mixture of ceramics having porosity and a binder. At this time, two types of binders are used. Kang binders and high-temperature ceramic binders are used to form the porous insulating layer.

As a counter electrode, 12 strands of stainless steel filaments (Stainless steel filaments, Hyosung ^® ) with a diameter of 40 μm are braided using a braiding machine and braided in a yarn shape. The counter electrode was washed and dried in the same manner as the photoelectrode to remove impurities on the surface of the filament yarn. 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 the photoelectrode and the counter electrode were treated in this way, the photoelectrode and the woven fiber wire were woven with an external yarn, and the counter electrode and the woven fiber wire were woven with a warp 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. Thereafter, an acetonitrile-based electrolyte (Solarnix, Iodolyte-AN50) was injected into the woven body to prepare a solar cell.

In this way, the photoelectrode layer 111 is formed on one side of the photoelectrode body 113 and the porous insulating layer 115 is formed on the other side so that the porous insulating layer 115 faces the counter electrode 130 with the woven fiber wire 11 and When weaving together, the solar cell 100 of the present invention can be easily woven into the woven fabric 10 because it has flexibility. Through this, it is possible to weave the solar cell 100 at a desired position in the woven fabric 10 . When it is possible to weave the solar cell 100 at a desired position in the woven fabric 10 , the solar cell 100 can be applied to various areas. In addition, even when pressure is applied from the outside, such as bending the solar cell 100 by the porous insulating layer 115 , a short circuit between the photoelectrode 110 and the counter electrode 130 can be prevented.

10: woven material to be inserted 11: woven fiber wire
100: solar cell 110: photoelectrode
111: photoelectrode layer 113: photoelectrode body
115: porous insulating layer 117: perforation
130: counter electrode

Claims (10)

A photoelectrode; a counter electrode including a counter electrode body spaced apart from the photoelectrode; and a counter electrode layer formed on the counter electrode body; and an electrolyte provided between the photoelectrode and the counter electrode. In the dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting,
The photoelectrode is
A photoelectrode body in the form of a thin metal plate or metal ribbon including a plurality of perforations; and
a photoelectrode layer laminated on one surface of the photoelectrode body; and
A porous insulating layer coated on the other surface of the photoelectrode body to face the counter electrode; and to form a short-circuit prevention electrode,
The photoelectrode and the counter electrode are inserted and woven together with the weft yarn and the counter electrode and the woven fiber wire as a warp so that the photoelectrode and the counter electrode are inserted into the woven material to be inserted,
A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an anti-short electrode, characterized in that the porous insulating layer is woven together with the woven fiber wire to face the counter electrode. The method of claim 1,
The porous insulating layer,
A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an anti-short electrode, characterized in that it is made of porous ceramics or porous polymer. 3. The method of claim 2,
The porous ceramic is
Silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ), titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ), aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) and a dye-sensitized type capable of inserting an anti-short electrode, characterized in that selected from the group consisting of mixtures thereof solar cell. The method of claim 1,
The porous insulating layer,
A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an anti-short electrode, characterized in that it is coated using spray coating, dip coating, or spin coating. The method of claim 1,
The counter electrode is
A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an anti-short electrode, characterized in that it has a metal wire, metal yarn, metal sheet or metal ribbon shape. The method of claim 1,
A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an anti-short 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 anti-short electrode, characterized in that it is made of titanium oxide (TiO _{2 ).} 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 layer,
A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an anti-short electrode, characterized in that it is selected from the group consisting of platinum (Pt), carbon nanotube (CNT), and mixtures thereof. The method of claim 1,
The woven fiber wire,
A dye-sensitized solar cell capable of inserting an anti-short electrode, characterized in that the photoelectrode is a thermally stable fiber wire so that the photoelectrode layer can be formed by heat treatment on the photoelectrode after the photoelectrode is woven. 10. The method of claim 9,
The heat-stable fiber wire,
Nylon fiber, glass fiber, polybenzoxazole fiber, aramid fiber, and a dye-sensitized insertable short circuit electrode characterized in that selected from the group consisting of a mixture thereof type solar cell.

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