By Daniel Agaphela
11404029
BACHELOR’S DEGREE in
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT FACULTY OF LIFE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SWISS GERMAN UNIVERSITY The Prominence Tower
Jalan Jalur Sutera Barat No. 15, Alam Sutera Tangerang, Banten 15143 - Indonesia
August 2018
Revision after the Thesis Defense on 25th July 2018
STATEMENT BY THE AUTHOR
I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at any educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis.
Daniel Agaphela
_____________________________________________
Student Date
Approved by:
Dr. Phil. Matthias Guenther, M.Sc.
_____________________________________________
Thesis Advisor Date
Dr. Dipl.-Ing. Samuel P. Kusumocahyo
_____________________________________________
Thesis Co-Advisor Date
Dr. Natalita Maulani Nursam, S.T, M.Phil
_____________________________________________
Thesis Co-Advisor Date
ABSTRACT
MONOLITHIC DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS (DSSC) WITH METAL-FREE CARBON THICK FILM AS COUNTER ELECTRODE
By Daniel Agaphela
Dr. Phil. Matthias Guenther, M.Sc., Advisor Dr. Dipl.-Ing. Samuel P. Kusumocahyo, Co-Advisor Dr. Natalita Maulani Nursam, S.T, M.Phil, Co-Advisor
SWISS GERMAN UNIVERSITY
In the present project, monolithic dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with a metal-free carbon layer as counter-electrode were developed and a first attempt to scale it up to submodules was carried out. Prior to the development of monolithic DSSCs, sandwich DSSCs with metal-free carbon counter electrode were manufactured as a performance benchmark for the monolithic cells. The results demonstrate that the monolithic DSSCs have a lower efficiency. An advantage is that they are simpler to manufacture.
Positive results showed the scale-up of the cells in submodules, which increased the efficiency by 0.3%. Although the efficiency is still low compared to DSSCs with sandwich structure, the scale-up of monolithic DSSC in this work demonstrates an interesting potential for further research.
Keywords: dye-sensitized solar cell, scale-up, module, monolithic, carbon counter- electrode
© Copyright 2018 by Daniel Agaphela
All rights reserved
DEDICATION
I dedicate this research for development of energy industry of the country I loved, Indonesia, and for my beloved father, Alm. Hely Iswara
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to thank my thesis advisor Dr. Phil. Matthias Guenther, M.Sc. for the support and guidance for me in the right the direction whenever he thought I needed it. I would like to thank my co-advisor Dr. Dipl.-Ing. Samuel P. Kusumocahyo and Dr.
Natalita Maulani Nursam, S.T, M.Phil who were there to guide and help me on my research. I would also like to thank my senior co-worker in PPET-LIPI Bandung, Mr.
Shobih, Mr. Jojo, Ms. Erlita, and Mr. Wahid to whom I am grateful for their attention, assistance, help and kindness during my research in LIPI laboratory. And I would not forget to thank all of the lecturers in SGU especially Mam Evita and Mr. Hery who have taught me and assisted me a lot during my study and my research. Finally, I want to express my very profound gratitude for my girlfriend Ivone Cahaya for always being there for me everytime I need her, built my confidence, and supported me. Also for my family, especially my parents, my sisters and cousins, and my friends who have been providing me with unfailing support and their continuous encouragement throughout my years of study and through the process of research and writing for this thesis. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. Thank you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
STATEMENT BY THE AUTHOR ... 2
ABSTRACT ... 3
DEDICATION ... 5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... 6
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... 7
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ... 12
1.1 Background ... 12
1.2 Objectives ... 15
CHAPTER 2 - THEORETICAL OVERVIEW ... 16
2.1 Solar Cells ... 16
2.2 Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells ... 17
2.3 Working Priciple of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells ... 18
2.4 Structures of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells ... 20
2.4.1 Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) substrate ... 20
2.4.2 Photoelectrode ... 22
2.4.3 Photosensitizer ... 23
2.4.4 Counter-electrode ... 25
2.4.5 Electrolyte ... 25
2.4.6 Spacer ... 26
2.5 Characterization ... 26
2.5.1 Current-Voltage (I-V) measurement ... 26
2.5.2 Incident Photon-to-Current Efficiency (IPCE) measurement ... 28
CHAPTER 3 – LITERATURE REVIEW ... 29
CHAPTER 4 – RESEARCH METHODS ... 31
4.1 Materials and Equipment ... 31
4.2 Experimental Method ... 32
4.3 Synthesizing of Carbon Paste ... 33
4.4 Fabrication of Sandwich DSSC ... 34
4.4.1 Design of the sandwich DSSC ... 34
4.4.5 Deposition of the carbon layer and sintering ... 35
4.4.6 Assembly of the cell ... 36
4.5 Fabrication of Monolithic DSSC and Submodule ... 36
4.5.1 Design of the monolithic DSSC and Submodule ... 36
4.5.2 Substrate preparation ... 38
4.5.3 Deposition of the TiO2 layer ... 38
4.5.4 Deposition of the ZrO2 layer ... 39
4.5.5 Deposition of the carbon layer ... 39
4.5.6 Dye sensitization of the cell ... 39
4.5.7 Assembly of the cell ... 39
CHAPTER 5 – RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ... 41
5.1 Sheet Resistance Measurement ... 41
5.2 Current-Voltage (I-V) measurement ... 42
5.3 Incident Photon-to-Current Efficiency (IPCE) Measurement ... 49
CHAPTER 6 – CONCLUSION AND RECCOMENDATIONS ... 52
6.1 Conclusion ... 52
6.2 Recommendations ... 52
REFERENCES ... 53
APPENDICES ... 57
CURRICULUM VITAE ... 66
