High efficiency and stable solid-state fiber dye-sensitized solar cells obtained using TiO2 photoanodes enhanced with metal organic frameworks

Solid-state fiber dye-sensitized solar cells (SS-FDSSCs) have been the subject of intensive attention and development in recent years. Although this field is only in its infancy, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are one such material that has been utilized to further improve the power conversion efficiency of solar cells. In this study, MOF-integrated DSSCs were shown to have potential in the development of solar cell devices with efficiency comparable to or better than that of conventional solar cells. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of SS-FDSSCs was improved by embedding MOF-801 into a mesoporous-TiO2 (mp-TiO2) layer, which was used as a photoanode in SS-FDSSCs, which are inherently flexible. The PCE of the MOF-integrated SS-FDSSCs was 6.50%, which is comparable to that of the reference devices (4.19%). The MOF-801 enhanced SS-FDSSCs decreased the series resistance (Rs) value, resulting in effective electron extraction with improved short-circuit current density (JSC), while also increasing the shunt resistance (Rsh) value to prevent the recombination of photo-induced electrons. The result is an improved fill factor and, consequently, a higher value for the PCE.