TW201507183A - Solar cell and manufacturing method for dye-sensitized solar cell - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a solar cell whereby it is possible to solve the problem of effective planar area of the cell, which is a power-generating area, being constrained as a result of a non-power-generating area occupied by an electrode structure. A solar cell (10) has: a photovoltaic conversion unit (12); a porous anode (14); and a cathode (16), in which a non-porous cathode, or non-porous material and porous material, are stacked. The anode (14) is provided on the opposite side of a light-incident side of the photovoltaic conversion unit (12), and the cathode (16) is provided so as to face the anode (14). A non-porous conductor unit (24) is provided on the opposite side of the light-incident side of a portion of the electrode of the anode (14), and a portion of the non-porous conductor unit (24) is exposed from a first aperture (26) formed on a sealing portion (20) at a position not overlapping the cathode (16) in plan view so as to form a first external connection terminal (28). Meanwhile, a portion of the electrode of the cathode (16) is exposed from a second aperture (30) formed at a position different from the first aperture (26) of the sealing portion (20) at the opposite side from the light-incident portion and forms a second external connection terminal (32).

Description

Solar cell and method for manufacturing dye-sensitized solar cell

The present invention relates to an electrode configuration of a solar cell.

A solar cell refers broadly to the entire photoelectric conversion element that converts light into electric power. In general, a solar cell is a pn-bonded semiconductor element using p-type and n-type semiconductors. The solar cell formed of the semiconductor element as described above includes a lanthanum-based solar cell using a ruthenium semiconductor, a compound thin film solar cell using a compound semiconductor, and an organic thin film solar cell using an organic semiconductor. On the other hand, there is also a dye-sensitized solar cell which does not utilize a semiconductor but uses a principle in which a dye absorbs light to generate electrons.

Any type of solar cell is put into practical use, and long-term reliability of an electrode structure capable of extracting electric power without impairing power generation efficiency is a common problem. Among them, the long-term reliability of the sealing structure for blocking the solar cell from the atmospheric gas environment is also a problem. In particular, the dye-sensitized solar cell has a battery structure as described below, and the electrolyte solution is used. The exact sealing construction.

The latter dye-sensitized solar cell is referred to as a wet solar cell or a Grätzel cell, and is characterized by having an electrochemical unit cell structure represented by an iodine solution. The dye-sensitized solar cell has a transparent conductive glass plate (a transparent conductive substrate laminated with a transparent conductive film, an anode) An iodine solution or the like is disposed between the porous semiconductor layer such as a titanium dioxide layer formed by adsorbing a dye and a counter electrode formed of a conductive glass plate (conductive substrate cathode electrode) as an electrolyte. Simple structure of (electrolyte). The dye adsorbed on the surface of the porous titanium oxide electrode absorbs light to generate excitation of electrons. The dye that loses electrons is regenerated by the electrons taken up by the iodide ions.

Dye-sensitized solar cells are attracting attention as low-cost solar cells because they are inexpensive in materials and do not require large-scale equipment during production.

However, dye-sensitized solar cells have lower power generation efficiency than other solar cells, so the power generation efficiency is further improved.

Conventionally, the dye-sensitized solar cell system is similar to other solar cells, and the extraction electrode electrically connected to each of the anode electrode and the cathode electrode extends around the battery such as the opposite ends of the battery in a plan view. Then, the conductor wiring is connected to the external connection terminal of each of the extraction electrodes, and a load is applied between the two conductor wirings to generate electricity (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The extension portion of the extraction electrode provided around the battery is a so-called non-power generation region in which the battery cannot be disposed with respect to the battery as the power generation region.

In order to improve the problem, a method has been disclosed in which the direction of light incident on a wiring portion (non-power generation region) provided between adjacent cells is directed toward the power generation region by the incident light direction changing portion. Change the method (see Patent Document 2).

However, at this time, since the incident light direction changing unit is disposed so as to cover a part of the power generation amount region, the light transmittance is lowered. Further, the cost of providing the incident light direction changing portion is large.

In the meantime, the inventors of the present invention have proposed a dye-sensitized solar cell comprising a porous semiconductor layer to which a dye is adsorbed, a conductor layer to be a cathode, and a conductive structure layer to be an anode. Providing an extension portion in which one end portion of each of the conductive metal layer and the conductor layer is extended by the buildup structure portion, in other words, a take-out electrode is provided, and the build-up structure portion and the extension portion are sealed together with the sealed electrolyte by a sealing material, and A part of the conductive metal layer and each of the extending portions of the conductor layer is exposed by a sealing material to form an external connection terminal (see Patent Document 3). Thereby, it is possible to surely prevent the electrolyte from leaking out of the portion where the extending portion electrically connected to the conductive metal layer and the conductor layer is electrically connected.

[Previous Technical Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] WO/2011/013581

Patent Document 2] WO/2009/098857

Patent Document 3] WO/2011/135811

The problem to be solved is that the conventional solar cell is a non-power generating region occupied by the electrode structure, and the effective planar area of the battery cell as the power generating region is limited.

The solar cell of the present invention has a photoelectric conversion unit, a porous anode provided on the opposite side to the light incident side of the photoelectric conversion unit, and a non-porous cathode or a laminated non-porous material provided opposite to the anode. Porous material A cathode in which the entire cathode is sealed is characterized in that a non-porous conductor portion is laminated on the opposite side to the light incident side of the electrode of the anode, and a part of the non-porous conductor portion is incident on the light. The side is the opposite side, and the first opening is exposed at a position where the cathode does not overlap with the cathode in a plan view, and the first external connection terminal is formed, and a part of the electrode of the cathode is opposite to the light incident side. And being formed as a second external connection terminal by being exposed at a second opening formed at a position different from the first opening in the sealing portion.

Further, in the above solar cell, it is preferable that the photoelectric conversion unit is a porous semiconductor layer on which a dye is disposed on the light incident side, and the anode is provided on the light incident side of the porous semiconductor layer to which the dye is adsorbed. The porous conductor layer on the side surface is a conductor layer in which a cathode is a non-porous conductor layer or a non-porous material and a porous material which are provided to face the porous conductor layer through the sealed electrolyte layer.

Further, the method for producing a dye-sensitized solar cell of the present invention is characterized in that a slurry-form raw material of a porous anode is applied onto a substrate which is soluble by chemical treatment, and the slurry-form raw material is sintered to form After the sintered body, the substrate is separated from the sintered body by chemical treatment, and a dye-adsorbed porous semiconductor layer is formed on the sintered body to obtain a porous anode with a dye-adsorbed porous semiconductor layer, and a dye-adsorbed porous material is added. a step of laminating a non-porous conductor portion on one side of the anode of the porous anode of the semiconductor layer; obtaining a substantially uniform planar size with the porous anode of the dye-adsorbing porous semiconductor layer, when the anode is In the case of overlapping, a portion in which a portion corresponding to the non-porous conductor portion is notched to form a non-porous cathode or a non-porous material in which a non-porous material and a porous material are formed; and a dye-adsorbing porous semiconductor Floor a porous anode and a cathode, a step of laminating a non-porous conductor portion of a porous anode with a dye-adsorbing porous semiconductor layer and a notch portion of the cathode; and a resin sheet on the outer side of the cathode At least one of the sealing portions and the sealing portion are sealed, and a step of exposing at least a part of the non-porous conductor portion and a part of the cathode to the outside of the cathode is formed.

Further, the solar cell of the present invention has a photoelectric conversion portion, a non-porous transparent anode provided on the light incident side of the photoelectric conversion portion, and a non-porous cathode or laminate provided to face the anode with the photoelectric conversion portion interposed therebetween. A solar cell in which a cathode of a non-porous material and a porous material is sealed, and a part of the electrode of the anode is opposite to the light incident side, and does not overlap the cathode in a plan view. The position is formed at the third opening of the sealing portion to be formed as a third external connection terminal, and a part of the electrode of the cathode is on the opposite side to the light incident side, and is formed at a position different from the third opening of the sealing portion. The fourth opening is exposed to form a fourth external connection terminal.

In the solar cell of the present invention, a part of the electrode of the porous anode is laminated on the side opposite to the light incident side, and a part of the non-porous conductor portion is formed on the side opposite to the light incident side. The first opening of the sealing portion is exposed to be formed as a first external connection terminal, and a part of the electrode of the cathode of the non-porous cathode or the laminated non-porous material and the porous material is formed on the opposite side to the light incident side. A second opening that is different from the first opening of the sealing portion is exposed to form a second external connection terminal.

Therefore, since the extraction electrode does not extend to the end of each of the anode and the cathode of the cathode, the non-power generation due to the electrode structure can be effectively alleviated. In the region, the planar area of the battery cell as the power generation region is limited, and since a part of the electrode of the porous anode is not directly exposed, there is no internal structural component such as a photoelectric conversion portion that is in contact with the porous anode. Since it is substantially in communication with the outside through the porous anode, it is possible to reduce the staining of the internal structural constituents due to the external gas atmosphere.

In this case, when the solar cell-based photoelectric conversion unit is a porous semiconductor layer to which a dye is adsorbed on the light incident side, the anode is provided on the side opposite to the light incident side of the porous semiconductor layer to which the dye is adsorbed. In the porous conductor layer, when the cathode is a non-porous conductor layer that passes through the sealed electrolyte layer and faces the porous conductor layer, or a conductor layer formed by laminating a non-porous material and a porous material, the electrolyte is permeated. The porous anode is less likely to leak to the outside.

Further, the method of producing a dye-sensitized solar cell of the present invention can be suitably applied to obtain the above dye-sensitized solar cell.

Further, a part of the electrode of the non-porous transparent anode of the solar cell of the present invention is exposed on the opposite side from the light incident side, and is formed at the third opening of the sealing portion by a position which does not overlap the cathode in plan view. Formed as a third external connection terminal, and a part of the electrode of the cathode is opposite to the light incident side, and is formed as a fourth external connection terminal by being exposed at a fourth opening formed at a position different from the third opening of the sealing portion. .

Therefore, since the extraction electrode does not extend to the end of each of the anode and the cathode of the cathode in the plan view, the non-power generation region occupied by the electrode structure can be effectively alleviated, and the planar area of the battery cell as the power generation region is limited. In other cases, since it is a simple configuration for directly exposing a part of the electrode of the anode, In the case where the internal structural component such as the photoelectric conversion portion that is in contact with the porous anode passes through the porous anode and is substantially in communication with the outside, it is possible to reduce the contamination of the internal structural components due to the external gas atmosphere. .

10, 10a‧‧‧ solar cells

12‧‧‧Photoelectric Conversion Department

14, 14a‧‧‧ anode

16‧‧‧ cathode

18‧‧‧Transparent substrate

19‧‧‧Substrate

20‧‧‧ Sealing Department

22‧‧‧Insulation

24‧‧‧Non-porous conductors

26‧‧‧First opening

26a‧‧‧ third opening

28‧‧‧First external connection terminal

28a‧‧‧Third external connection terminal

30‧‧‧second opening

30a‧‧‧fourth opening

32‧‧‧Second external connection terminal

32a‧‧‧fourth external connection terminal

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a solar cell of a first example of the present embodiment viewed from a light incident side.

Fig. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view as seen from the A-A direction in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view showing an example of a state in which the anode and the cathode are superposed in the solar cell of the first example of the embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a view showing a difference between the solar cell of the first example of the present embodiment and the fourth figure showing the state in which the anode and the cathode are overlapped.

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the solar cell of the second example of the embodiment viewed from the light incident side.

Fig. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view as seen from the A-A direction in Fig. 6.

Figure 8 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of Figure 6.

Embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the present embodiment) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, a solar cell according to a first example of the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 5 .

The solar cell 10 of the first example of the present embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 3 has a photoelectric conversion unit 12, a porous anode 14, and a non-porous yin. Extreme 16. The anode 14 is provided on the opposite side to the light incident side of the photoelectric conversion unit 12. The cathode 16 is provided opposite to the anode 14. The solar cell 10 is provided with a transparent substrate 18 on the outer side of the photoelectric conversion unit 12 and on the transparent substrate 19 on the outer side of the cathode 16, and is sealed by a suitable sealing material or sealing member. Figs. 2 and 3 show an example in which sealing is performed by a sealing material (sealing portion) 20. In addition, it is sufficient that the outer side of the cathode 16, in other words, the back surface is sealed by either the substrate 19 or the sealing portion 20, and it is not necessary to provide both the substrate 19 and the sealing portion 20. The cathode 16 may also be a laminated non-porous material and a porous material.

It is sufficient that the sealing material or the sealing member can seal the photoelectric conversion portion 12. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the transparent substrate 18 is provided on the outer surface of the photoelectric conversion unit 12, and the cathode 16 is formed by the non-porous metal layer. The transparent substrate 18 and the cathode 16 are sealed to seal the photoelectric conversion portion 12, and as a result, the entire solar cell 10 can be sealed. However, in order to reliably seal by a simple method, it is preferable to seal the solar cell 10 with the sealing material 20 by omitting the transparent substrate 18 and the substrate 19.

The solar cell 10 is preferably a dye-sensitized solar cell, the photoelectric conversion unit 12 is a porous semiconductor layer on which a dye is disposed on the light incident side, and the anode 14 is light provided on the porous semiconductor layer to which the dye is adsorbed. The incident side is a porous conductor layer on the opposite side, and the cathode 16 is a non-porous conductor layer that is disposed to face the anode 14 through the sealed electrolyte layer (not shown in FIGS. 1 to 3). Or a layer of a conductor having a non-porous material and a porous material. The anode 14 is formed into a porous system in order to obtain good electrolyte properties, or holes or electrolytes between the cathode 16 side and the porous semiconductor layer. The conductivity of electrons.

An insulating layer 22 is preferably provided between the anode 14 and the cathode 16. Thereby, the anode 14 and the cathode 16 can be reliably insulated when the force for bending the solar cell 10 is applied.

The specific configuration of the dye-sensitized solar cell can be directly applied to a well-known person, and further, since it is not the essence of the invention, it is simply exemplified as follows. In the solar battery of the second example of the present embodiment to be described later, these configurations can also be applied.

As the anode 14, a metal mesh, a metal layer in which a large number of holes are formed in advance, a porous metal layer formed by a spray or a film formation method, or the like can be used. The material of the anode 14 is not particularly limited, but may be suitably used for Ti, W, Ni, Pt, Ta, Nb, Zr, Au, or the like. The thickness of the anode 14 is not particularly limited, and it is suitable to form 0.2 μm to 600 μm.

The cathode 16 is a catalyst film or a non-porous conductive film is laminated on the catalyst film. As the catalyst film, a noble metal such as platinum or a high surface area carbon or the like can be used. When the platinum film is formed by, for example, a sputtering method, it is formed as a non-porous film, and when high surface area carbon is formed by, for example, a carbon particle printing method, it is formed into a porous film. In any case, due to the presence of the non-porous conductive film, there is no possibility that the electrolyte leaks to the outside. The thickness of the cathode 16 is not particularly limited, and is preferably, for example, about several tens of nm from the viewpoint of obtaining good conductivity.

As the porous semiconductor layer to which the dye is adsorbed, a suitable metal oxide such as TiO ₂ , ZnO or SnO ₂ can be used as the semiconductor material. The thickness of the porous semiconductor layer is not particularly limited, but is preferably a thickness of 10 μm or more. The dye adsorbed on the porous semiconductor layer has an absorption at a wavelength of 400 nm to 1200 mm, for example, a metal complex such as a ruthenium metal dye, an anthraquinone dye, an anthraquinone, an iron or a platinum, or a cyanine dye, An organic dye such as a methyl group, a red bromomercapto, a dibenzopyran, a porphyrin, a phthalocyanine, a subphthalocyanine, an azo or a coumarin.

As the electrolyte layer, a well-known electrolyte solution or a solid electrolyte can be used, for example, containing iodine, lithium ion, ionic liquid, tert-butylpyridine or the like. For example, if it is iodine, a redox reaction using a combination of iodide ion and iodine can be used. body. The electrolyte layer contains a suitable solvent that can dissolve the redox bodies.

The transparent substrate 18 and the substrate 19 may be glass, or may be a transparent resin sheet. The material series of transparent resin sheets are, for example, PP, PE, PS, ABS, PS, PC, PMMA, PVC, PA, POM, PET, PEN, PIB, PVB, PA6, polyimine, polyamine, polyolefin, Polyester, polyether, hardened acrylic resin, hardened epoxy resin, hardened epoxy resin, various engineering plastics, cyclic polymer obtained by displacement polymerization, and the like. Among them, the substrate 19 provided in contact with the cathode 16 may not be transparent. The thickness of the substrate 19 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 1 μm to 3 mm.

As the material of the sealing portion 20, for example, an acrylic resin, an epoxy resin, an ionic polymer resin, a silicone resin, or the like can be used. The thickness of the sealing portion 20 that seals the substrate 19 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 1 μm to 10 μm.

A non-porous conductor portion 24 is provided on the side opposite to the light incident side of a portion of the electrode of the anode 14, and is formed at the first opening 26 of the sealing portion 20 by a position that does not overlap the cathode 16 in plan view. A part of the non-porous conductor portion 24 is formed as the first external connection terminal 28. On the other hand, a part of the electrode of the cathode 16 is formed on the opposite side to the light incident side, and is formed as a second by the second opening 30 formed at a position different from the first opening 26 of the sealing portion 20. External connection terminal 32. Thereby, the anode 14 and the first external connection terminal 28 are electrically insulated from the cathode 16 and the second external connection terminal 32.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the external connection terminals 28 and 32 appear to be largely retracted by the openings 26 and 30. However, since the thickness of the substrate 19 and the sealing portion 20 is thin, the external connection terminals 28 and 32 are actually provided. It is exposed to the extent that the conductor wiring is sufficiently connected.

When the external connection terminals 28 and 32 are arranged in close proximity as shown in Fig. 1, it is preferable to arrange the conductor wirings connected to the phases.

The material of the non-porous conductor portion 24 is not particularly limited, and is preferably a metal material such as Ti, W, Ni, Pt, Ta, Nb, Zr or Au, or a compound thereof or a material coated therewith.

The non-porous conductor portion 24 and the cathode 16 do not overlap each other in plan view. In other words, in order to ensure insulation between the non-porous conductor portion 24 and the cathode 16, an electrode structure as shown below can be formed.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a slit is formed in a region overlapping the non-porous conductor portion 24, in other words, at a portion of the cathode 16 corresponding to a region where the first opening 26 appears (indicated by an arrow A in Fig. 4). . Thereby, the region of the cathode 16 which does not overlap the anode 14 in plan view can be formed only as a slit portion, and the portion where the anode 14 and the cathode 16 overlap can be enlarged, in other words, an effective power generation region can be enlarged.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the length dimension L2 of the cathode 16 is overlapped with the porous conductor portion 24, in other words, the region where the first opening 26 appears, compared to the length dimension L1 of the anode 14. When the portion is shortened, the step of performing the slit processing of the cathode 16 can be omitted.

The solar cell 10 of the first example of the present embodiment described above Therefore, in the conventional solar cell, the non-power generation region which is formed by the extraction electrode electrically connected to each of the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, and the opposite ends of the battery in the plan view, can be used as a non-power generation region. The planar area of the battery cells in the power generation area is large.

For example, in a battery cell in which a conventional extraction electrode is planarly extended, when a planar area of a battery cell as a power generation region is ensured to be 6.56 cm ² , in the solar cell 10, a part of the cathode is notched and non-porous. The conductive body portion is exposed, whereby the planar area of the battery cell as the power generation region can be expanded to, for example, 8.38 cm ² . When the anode of the dye-adsorbed titanium dioxide layer in which the slit is not formed is functioned regardless of the size of the cathode, the planar area of the battery cell as the power generation region can be the same as that of the anode without the slit. For example, up to 8.8cm ² .

Further, in the solar battery 10 of the first example of the present embodiment, since a part of the electrode of the porous anode is not directly exposed, the internal structural components such as the photoelectric conversion portion that is in contact with the porous anode do not pass through the porous anode. Since it is substantially in communication with the outside, it is possible to reduce the staining of the internal structural components due to the external gas environment. When the solar cell 10 is a dye-sensitized solar cell, it is possible to prevent the electrolyte from leaking to the outside through the porous anode.

Among them, the solar battery 10 has no external appearance when viewed from the light incident side, and thus is excellent in design.

Next, a method of manufacturing the dye-sensitized solar cell of the present embodiment will be described. According to the method for producing a dye-sensitized solar cell of the present embodiment, the dye-sensitized solar cell of the first example of the present embodiment can be suitably obtained.

The method for producing a dye-sensitized solar cell according to the present embodiment includes the step of obtaining a porous anode having a dye-adsorbing porous semiconductor layer having a non-porous conductor portion (first step); and obtaining a notched portion a step of a cathode (second step); a step of laminating a porous anode with a dye-adsorbing porous semiconductor layer and a cathode (third step); and a substrate having a fifth opening formed on the outer side of the cathode, or A step (fourth step) of forming at least one of the sealing resin sheets of the seventh opening is formed at a position corresponding to the notch portion with the sixth opening.

In the first step, the slurry-form raw material of the porous anode is coated on a substrate which is soluble by chemical treatment, and after the slurry-form raw material is sintered to form a sintered body, the substrate is chemically treated. The sintered body is separated, and a dye-adsorbed porous semiconductor layer is formed on the sintered body to obtain a porous anode with a dye-adsorbing porous semiconductor layer, and a corner of the anode of the porous anode to which the dye-adsorbed porous semiconductor layer is attached Part of the laminated non-porous conductor.

For the slurry raw material of the porous anode, for example, a slurry composition in which titanium powder having a particle diameter of 3 to 40 μm and an average particle diameter of 10 μm is mixed with, for example, an ethylcellulose-based binder can be used. The slurry composition is applied to a substrate which is soluble by chemical treatment, for example, an iron foil by a doctor blade method (screen printing method), for example, using a metal mask, and dried under reduced pressure. A pre-molded body is obtained. Thereafter, the molded body before firing is subjected to a press treatment. Next, the molded body before firing is heated together with an iron foil to perform degreasing treatment. Further, the sintered body was obtained by firing. The sintered body is immersed in, for example, a sulfuric acid aqueous solution, and the iron foil which is in contact with the sintered body is partially dissolved, and the iron foil is peeled off from the sintered body. The obtained sintered body is repeatedly washed with distilled water or the like to remove sulfuric acid, and then dried by heating. In addition, for example, the dioxin will be repeated several times. After the titanium paste is printed, dried, and then fired, the titanium dioxide slurry is subjected to printing and baking to obtain a porous Ti-sheet substrate with a titanium dioxide layer. Further, the unformed portions of the four sides of the porous Ti-sheet substrate with the titanium dioxide layer were removed. Next, for example, the prepared Ti-titanium-attached porous Ti-sheet substrate is impregnated with a mixed solvent solution of N719 dye acetonitrile and tertiary butanol, and the dye is adsorbed on the surface of the titanium dioxide, and the adsorbed substrate is acetonitrile and tertiary butanol. The mixed solvent is washed and dried. Further, for example, a titanium foil which is a non-porous conductor portion is laminated on one of the corners of the porous Ti-sheet substrate with the dye-adsorbed titania layer and the back side of the dye-adsorbed titanium dioxide layer is not attached to obtain a non-porous. The porous anode of the porous semiconductor layer is adsorbed by the dye-attached substance of the mass conductor portion.

In the second step, the porous anode having the dye-adsorbed porous semiconductor layer has substantially the same planar size, and when overlapped with the anode, a portion corresponding to the non-porous conductor portion is formed into a slit to form a slit. A cathode having a cut portion.

For example, on one side of a titanium foil, platinum is sputtered to obtain a Ti substrate with a Pt catalyst layer. Further, a hole for inserting an electrolyte solution is vacated in a central portion of the Ti substrate to which the Pt catalyst layer is attached, and when it overlaps with the anode, a portion corresponding to the non-porous conductor portion is notched to obtain a cathode. For the cathode, for example, a Ti substrate in which carbon particles are deposited on one side of the titanium foil with a carbon catalyst layer may be used instead of platinum.

In the third step, the porous anode and the cathode of the porous semiconductor layer are adsorbed by the dye, and the non-porous conductor portion of the porous anode with the dye-adsorbed porous semiconductor layer is aligned with the notch portion of the cathode. One area layer.

In the fourth step, the substrate is disposed outside the cathode, or A resin sheet for sealing is provided. In this case, both the substrate and the resin sheet for sealing may be provided. The substrate forms a fifth opening at any position. The sealing resin sheet is disposed at a position corresponding to the fifth opening when provided together with the substrate, and further, when separately provided, the sixth opening is formed at an arbitrary position, and the seventh portion is formed at a position corresponding to the notch portion. Opening.

At this time, the surface of the anode is also sealed with a resin sheet, or the entire battery is sealed with a sealing material.

When a resin sheet is used for the substrate, for example, a PEN sheet is used, and the layer is laminated by, for example, a roll press method. The substrate is formed with a notch portion at a position corresponding to the notch portion of the cathode, or a portion overlapping the at least a portion of the non-porous conductor portion in a plan view of the PEN sheet, for example, an opening is formed by a drill, and the same A portion of the cathode is formed into an opening.

For example, thermoplasticity is used followed by a sheet as a sealing material. In the same manner as in the case of the PEN sheet, an opening is formed in which at least one portion of the non-porous conductor portion and a part of the cathode are exposed to the outside of the cathode.

Further, after the electrolyte solution is inserted into the pores, an electrolyte solution containing, for example, tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (tetraglyme) solvent is injected under reduced pressure, and then the electrolyte is inserted into the pores and sealed with a UV curable resin to obtain a dye. Sensitized solar cells.

Next, a solar battery according to a second example of the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 6 to 8 .

The solar cell 10a of the second example of the present embodiment shown in Figs. 6 to 8 has a photoelectric conversion portion 12, a non-porous transparent anode 14a, and a non-porous cathode 16. The anode 14a is provided on the light incident side of the photoelectric conversion unit 12. Yin The pole 16 is provided to face the anode 14a with the photoelectric conversion unit 12 interposed therebetween. The cathode 16 may also be a laminate of a non-porous material and a porous material.

The solar cell 10a can be suitably applied to a dye-sensitized solar cell, and can be suitably applied to other thin film solar cells having a transparent conductive film.

The solar cell 10a is provided with a transparent substrate 18 on the outer side of the photoelectric conversion portion 12, and is sealed by a suitable sealing material or sealing member. Figs. 7 and 8 show an example in which sealing is performed by a sealing material (sealing portion) 20.

In the solar cell 10a, similarly to the solar cell 10, it is sufficient that the sealing material or the sealing member can seal the photoelectric conversion portion 12. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a transparent substrate 18 is provided on the outer surface of the non-porous transparent anode 14a, and the cathode 16 is formed of a non-porous metal layer by itself. The transparent substrate 18 and the cathode 16 seal the photoelectric conversion portion 12, and as a result, the entire solar cell 10 can be sealed. Among them, since the sealing is reliably performed by a simple method, it is preferable to seal the entire solar cell 10 with the sealing material 20.

Similarly to the solar cell 10, the solar cell 10a may be provided with an insulating layer.

The specific configuration of the solar cell is directly applicable to those skilled in the art of dye-sensitized solar cells or other thin film solar cells having a transparent conductive film, and since it is not essential to the invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

On the opposite side to the light incident side of a part of the electrode of the anode 14, a portion which is not overlapped with the cathode 16 in plan view is formed in the third opening 26a of the sealing portion 20 to expose a part of the anode 14 to form a third portion. External connection terminal 28a. On the other hand, a part of the electrode of the cathode 18 is on the side opposite to the light incident side On the opposite side, the fourth external connection terminal 32a is formed by being exposed by the fourth opening 30a formed at a position different from the third opening 26a of the sealing portion 20.

In addition, in FIGS. 7 and 8, the external connection terminals 28a and 32a seem to be largely retracted by the openings 26a and 30a. However, since the thickness of the sealing portion 20 is actually thin, the conductor wiring is sufficiently connected.

When the external connection terminals 28a and 32a are arranged in close proximity as shown in Fig. 6, they are suitable for the layout of the conductor wirings connected to the above.

The material of the non-porous transparent anode 14a is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, ITO (tin-doped indium film), FTO (fluorine-doped tin oxide film), or SnO ₂ film which are generally used. Further, a metal mesh using an inexpensive metal, a metal layer in which a plurality of holes are formed in advance, a metal layer formed by a spray or a film forming method, or the like can be used.

Among them, in a part of the exposed anode 14, a non-porous conductor portion is laminated in the same manner as the solar cell 10, which is a suitable embodiment.

Since the non-porous transparent anode 14a of the solar cell 10a and the cathode 16 do not overlap in plan view, they can be formed in the same electrode structure as the solar cell 10 described above.

Further, the method of manufacturing the solar cell 10a can be carried out in accordance with the method for producing a dye-sensitized solar cell of the present embodiment.

In the solar cell 10a of the second example of the present embodiment described above, similarly to the solar cell 10, the extraction electrode electrically connected to each of the anode electrode and the cathode electrode in the conventional solar cell is released. The non-power generation area generated by extending the periphery of the battery such as the both ends of the battery is large, so that the plane area of the battery cell as the power generation area can be made large.

Further, the solar cell 10a does not need to be provided in the non-porous conductor portion 24 which is originally necessary in the solar cell 10, and the internal structural components such as the photoelectric conversion portion that is in contact with the anode do not substantially communicate with the outside through the anode. In this case, it is possible to reduce the staining of the internal structural components due to the external gas environment. When the solar cell 10a is a dye-sensitized solar cell, it is possible to prevent the electrolyte from leaking to the outside through the porous anode.

In the solar cell 10a, similarly to the solar cell 10, the appearance of the electrode viewed from the light incident side is not taken out, and therefore the design is excellent.

10‧‧‧ solar cells

12‧‧‧Photoelectric Conversion Department

14‧‧‧Anode

16‧‧‧ cathode

18‧‧‧Transparent substrate

19‧‧‧Substrate

20‧‧‧ Sealing Department

30‧‧‧second opening

32‧‧‧Second external connection terminal

Claims (4)

A solar cell comprising: a photoelectric conversion unit; a porous anode provided on a side opposite to a light incident side of the photoelectric conversion unit; and a non-porous cathode or a laminated non-porous material provided to face the anode The cathode of the porous material is sealed as a whole, and a non-porous conductor portion is laminated on the side opposite to the light incident side of the electrode of the anode, and a part of the non-porous conductor portion is incident on the light. The side is the opposite side, and the first opening is exposed at a position where the cathode does not overlap in a plan view, and is formed as a first external connection terminal, and a part of the electrode of the cathode is on the light incident side The opposite side is formed as a second external connection terminal by being exposed at a second opening formed at a position different from the first opening of the sealing portion. The solar cell according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the photoelectric conversion unit is a porous semiconductor layer on which a dye is disposed on a light incident side, and the anode is provided on a porous semiconductor layer to which the dye is adsorbed. The light incident side is a porous conductor layer on the opposite side, and the cathode is a non-porous conductor layer or a laminated non-porous material and a porous material which are provided to penetrate the porous conductor layer through the sealed electrolyte layer. The conductor layer of the material. A solar cell comprising: a photoelectric conversion unit; a non-porous transparent anode provided on a light incident side of the photoelectric conversion unit; a cathode in which a non-porous material and a porous material are laminated, and a photoelectric conversion unit interposed therebetween The non-porous cathode with the anode facing opposite, the whole is sealed, The electrode of the anode is formed on the side opposite to the light incident side, and is formed at a position that does not overlap the cathode in a plan view, and is formed at a third opening of the sealing portion to form a third external connection. The terminal, and a part of the electrode of the cathode is exposed on the opposite side to the light incident side, and is formed as a fourth external connection terminal by being exposed at a fourth opening formed at a position different from the third opening of the sealing portion. A method for producing a dye-sensitized solar cell, comprising: coating a slurry-form raw material of a porous anode on a substrate which is soluble by chemical treatment, and sintering the slurry-form raw material to form a sintered body Thereafter, the substrate is separated from the sintered body by chemical treatment, and a dye-adsorbed porous semiconductor layer is formed on the sintered body to obtain a porous anode having a dye-adsorbed porous semiconductor layer, and further, the dye-adsorbed porous a step of laminating a non-porous conductor portion on one side of the anode of the porous anode of the porous semiconductor layer; obtaining a substantially uniform planar size with the porous anode of the dye-adsorbing porous semiconductor layer; a step of forming a non-porous cathode or a non-porous material of a non-porous material and a porous material in a notched portion by forming a portion corresponding to the non-porous conductor portion when the anodes are overlapped; Adsorbing the porous anode of the porous semiconductor layer and the cathode, and the non-porous conductor portion of the porous anode of the porous semiconductor layer is adsorbed by the dye a step of laminating the notch portion of the cathode with respect to the alignment; and providing a substrate having the fifth opening formed on the outside of the cathode or forming the first A step of forming at least one of the sealing resin sheets having the seventh opening formed at a position corresponding to the notched portion.