The present invention is a photovoltaic-thermoelectric solar cell and a method of manufacturing a photovoltaic-thermoelectric solar cell. The solar cell includes a substantially transparent electrode, an organometallic photovoltaic material disposed on the transparent electrode, and a cathode disposed on the organometallic photovoltaic material. The organometallic photovoltaic material may be a porphyrin nanomaterial.

Disclosed are a dye-sensitized solar cell including a polymer/graphene composite gel electrolyte and methods of preparing the dye-sensitized solar cell

The present invention provides: a film that comprises single-layer carbon nanotubes having shapes which enable the characteristics thereof to be sufficiently exhibited; and a process for producing the film. The film, which comprises single-layer carbon nanotubes, has portions where single-layer carbon nanotubes are densely present and portions where single-layer carbon nanotubes are sparsely present, the dense portions forming a pseudo-honeycomb structure in a surface of the film.

The invention relates to the use of halogenated histidine derivatives as electrolyte salts in the preparation of an electrolyte composition in a photoelectrochemical cell based on the sensitization to light of photoactive molecules, and also to a photoelectrochemical cell based on the sensitization to light of photoactive molecules comprising an electrolyte composition comprising at least one halogenated histidine derivative as electrolyte salt.

Disclosed is a photoelectric conversion element including a cell. The cell includes a first electrode, a second electrode, an oxide semiconductor layer provided on the first electrode, and an electrolyte provided between the first and second electrodes. The second electrode includes an annular portion, an approaching portion approaching the oxide semiconductor layer closer than the annular portion and an annular connecting portion connecting the annular portion and the approaching portion, and the oxide semiconductor layer includes an inner part facing the approaching portion on the first electrode and an annular outer part provided around the inner part and facing the connecting portion. The outer part includes a plurality of linear portions separated from one another and a corner portion connecting two adjacent linear portions to each other, the corner portion is thicker than the linear portion, and the linear portion is thicker than the inner part.

A perovskite solar module and a preparation method thereof. The perovskite solar module includes: a substrate; a transparent conductive oxide layer provided on at least a part of a surface of the substrate; an electron transport layer provided on at least a part of a surface of the transparent conductive oxide layer facing away from the substrate; a photoactive layer provided on at least a part of a surface of the electron transport layer facing away from the transparent conductive oxide layer; a hole transport layer provided on at least a part of a surface of the photoactive layer facing away from the electron transport layer; an electrode provided on at least a part of a surface of hole transport layer facing away from the photoactive layer; and a barrier layer provided in the photoactive layer and separating the photoactive layer apart from a protrusion of the electrode.

In one aspect of the invention, a dye sensitized solar cell has a counter-electrode including carbon-titania nanocomposite thin films made by forming a carbon-based ink; forming a titania (TiO.sub.2) solution; blade-coating a mechanical mixture of the carbon-based ink and the titania solution onto a substrate; and annealing the blade-coated substrate at a first temperature for a first period of time to obtain the carbon-based titania nanocomposite thin films. In certain embodiments, the carbon-based titania nanocomposite thin films may include solvent-exfoliated graphene titania (SEG-TiO.sub.2) nanocomposite thin films, or single walled carbon nanotube titania (SWCNT-TiO.sub.2) nanocomposite thin films.

Platinum films can be obtained by aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) using one or more Pt-dialkyldithiocarbamate complexes of formula Pt(S.sub.2CNR.sub.2), wherein R is independently alkyl, aryl, or alkaryl, particularly as single source precursors. Such methods may include heating a substrate to a deposition temperature above 150° C. in a reactor; and introducing into the reactor, at the deposition temperature, an aerosol including a platinum dithiocarbamate compound, salt, and/or solvate thereof, to thereby deposit the platinum layer on the substrate. The Pt(S.sub.2CNR.sub.2)-derived films have well-connected and defect-free surface topography and better catalytic performance, likely due to their high conductivity and reflectivity.

A solar cell includes a porous light absorbing layer, a first porous conducting layer, a second conducting layer, a porous substrate between the conducting layers, the porous substrate includes a catalytic conducting portion in electrical contact with the second conducting layer and an insulating portion between the first porous conducting layer and the conducting portion, and a conducting medium for transporting charges between the conducting portion and the light absorbing layer. The conducting medium is located in the light absorbing layer, the first porous conducting layer, and partly the porous substrate so that the insulating portion and a first part of the conducting portion has the conducting medium and a second part of the conducting portion is free of conducting medium.

A photoelectric conversion device in an embodiment includes a first photoelectric conversion part including a first transparent electrode, a first photoelectric conversion layer, and a first counter electrode and a second photoelectric conversion part including a second transparent electrode, a second photoelectric conversion layer, and a second counter electrode, the first photoelectric conversion part and the second photoelectric conversion part being provided on a transparent substrate. The first counter electrode and the second transparent electrode are electrically connected by a connection part. As for the first photoelectric conversion layer and the second photoelectric conversion layer, adjacent portions of the adjacent first and second photoelectric conversion layers are electrically separated by an inactive region having electrical resistance higher than that of the first and second photoelectric conversion layers.