Research Headline:Chemists at the University of Basel have now been able to successfully replace the usual iodine-based electron transport system in copper-based dye-sensitized solar cells by a cobalt compound.
We've discussed dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) in a previous article on this blog and how they transform light to electricity. They are made up of a semiconductor on which a dye is anchored. The color is responsible for absorbing light through which chemical reactions ensue to produce electrical current. The electrolytes of choice for such reactions is iodine and iodide.
On this note, researchers at the University of Basel have successfully replaced this rare element iodine by the more abundant element cobalt, taking a step forward in the development of environmentally friendly energy production. The journal "Chemical Communications" has published the results of these so-called Cu-Co cells.
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