Failure mechanism of flexible dye-sensitized solar cells during bending service: cracking and spalling of nano-porous TiO2 film
Chang-Jiu Li a, Guan-Jun Yang a, Cheng-Xin Li a, Mei Liu a, Xue-Long He a
a State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xianning West Road 28, , Xi'an, 710049, China
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
Proceedings of 6th International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV14)
Ecublens, Switzerland, 2014 May 11th - 14th
Organizers: Michael Graetzel and Mohammad Nazeeruddin
Poster, Guan-Jun Yang, 038
Publication date: 1st March 2014

Flexible dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is characterized as bendable, light weight and low cost, etc. Due to the lack of the quantitative evaluation method for cell flexibility, the cell bending failure mechanism has not been clarified, which is one of the most important problems limiting the development and application of high performance flexible DSSC. In this study,bending experiment was proposed for the quantitative evaluation of in-service behavior of flexible DSSC. Based on the evolution of the TiO2 film and solar cell during bending service, the bending failure mechanism was explored. Typical methods for improving efficiency and flexibility of flexible DSSC was proposed in this study. Results showed that photovoltaic performance degradation and recovery occurred for the flexible DSSC during bending and relaxing due to the short circuit resulting from the direct contact between photoanode and cathode. The evolution of photovoltaic performance of flexible DSSC during bending service was examined by using lab-developed solar cell bending tester. The bending failure mechanism of flexible DSSC was found to be dominated by the cracking and spalling off of TiO2 film. In addition, abnormal efficiency enhancement of flexible DSSC during bending servicewas found, and the mechanism was proposed to be the anisotropic evolution of the electron transport property of nano-TiO2 film. Typical methods for improving both the efficiency and bending resistance of flexible DSSC was proposed to aim at the development of high performance flexible DSSC. This study would promote further deeply understanding of the flexible service behavior of DSSC, and also would promote the development of the highly bendable and highly efficient flexible DSSC.


Degradation and abnormal efficiency enhancement of flexible DSSC with bending cycles at difference bending radius.
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