Light-driven degradation of photoactive molecules could be one of the major obstacles to stable long term operation of organic dye-based solar light harvesting devices. One solution to this problem may be mimicking the regeneration functionality of a plant leaf. We report an organic dye photovoltaic system that has been endowed with such microfluidic regeneration functionality. A hydrogel medium with embedded channels allows rapid and uniform supply of photoactive reagents by a convection-diffusion mechanism. A washing-activation cycle enables reliable replacement of the organic component in a dye-sensitized photovoltaic system. Repetitive restoration of photovoltaic performance after intensive device degradation is demonstrated.
CITATION STYLE
Koo, H. J., & Velev, O. D. (2013). Regenerable photovoltaic devices with a hydrogel-embedded microvascular network. Scientific Reports, 3. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep02357
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.