| Student Name | Malini Mukherji |
| School Name/Tchr | Indus Center for Academic Excellence -HS - Rahul Mital |
| Project Title | Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells |
| Category: | EGCH - Energy: Chemical |
| Grade: | 10 |
| Exhibit Location: | S-EGCH-005(40652) |
Category Award: 0 (GRAND AWARD)
Research Plan:
Abstract:
In today’s world scientists are constantly trying to discover new sources of green energy and solar energy is a great example of this. Currently, solar cells are silicon-based. These silicon-based solar cells are quite expensive to make, so scientists have come up with the concept of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). These DSSC are composed of a semiconductor called titanium dioxide, graphite, electrolyte, and most importantly dye. Although DSSC are not as efficient as regular silicon-based solar cells yet, they are constantly improving with the creation of stronger synthetic dyes. Some of the advantages of DSSC over silicon-based solar cells are that they are cheaper to fabricate, they absorb more sunlight per surface area, are lightweight and flexible, and work in low light conditions.
Objective:
The objective of this project is to get a first-hand experience of the creation of a dye-sensitized solar cell, discover the hurdles that are faced during the fabrication process, and figure out what is the maximum amount of millivolts I can extract with one cell and multiple cells put together in series.
Motivation:
My motivation behind this project is to learn more about the science behind solar technology and how it is progressing, specifically how the DSSC works and how it is being improved. I want to learn everything from how a semiconductor works to how photons generate free electrons inside a DSSC. Furthermore, I want to create dye-sensitized solar cells on my own, and be able to power a small lightbulb with the solar cells. Powering the light bulb will not be the end of my investigation in this area. In the future I will continue trying to power bigger loads, like a cellphone, and start to research and experiment with synthetic dyes to try to improve the efficiency of the DSSCs that I create.
Experiments:
Single DSSC using different natural dyes
Connecting multiple DSSC in series
DSSC powering a lightbulb
Cancel Entry and Return to Main Page
Send Comments to: SF2024 @ sefmd.org
Program Module: /Search/ShowAbstract.asp