Microfluidically Augmented Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Integrating Nanoscale Materials with Microfluidics for Performance and Longevity Enhancement

Integration of microfluidic capability into various architectures of dye-sensitized solar cells has been used in the past for the study and analysis of component degradation and dye loading kinetics but could also offer the benefit of overcoming the competitive electron diffusion bottleneck during exposure to solar resource while simultaneously enabling dynamic replacement of degraded materials for constant uptime. Here, we fabricate and characterize the performance of various iterations of microfluidically enabled devices that use TiO2 as well as ZnO devices with nanowires grown within microfluidic channels. While circulating electrolyte during exposure and operation, large-area microfluidic TiO2 and ZnO devices showed increased conductivity where photocurrent was improved by 38% and 13%, respectively, compared to static electrolyte. Employing microfluidics in degraded devices allowed for the total replacement of the degraded layer with a fresh payload of dye resulting in a greater than 100% and 83% photocurrent recovery, postdegradation in TiO2 and ZnO-based devices, respectively. Microfluidic capability is a unique platform to present alternative architectures modified by the flow of static components during light exposure for enhanced performance and longevity.