A new type of solar cell based on dye-sensitized nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (DSSC) has been developed by M. Grätzel et al. Remarkably high quantum efficiency in combination with the expected ease and low cost of manufacturing makes this new technology interesting as an alternative to existent solar cell technologies. Various elemental technologies of dye-sensitized solar cells have therefore been researched, including the sensitized dye, semiconductor particles, electrolyte, electron transfer process and photovoltaic mechanism.
In spite of these vigorous studies, the assembling of flexible TiO₂/dye solar cell is still under investigation. Flexible electrodes, like polyethylene terephthalate sheet coated with tin-doped indium oxide (PET-ITO), present lower costs and technological advantages relative to conductive glass electrodes, e.g. lower weight, impact resistance and less form and shape limitations. However, deposition of nano particulate TiO₂ on PET-ITO is difficult, because the thermal treatment must be limited to 150 °C or so. It decreases adhesion strength, electrical contact of TiO₂ particles and adsorption of the dye.
To achieve the selective heating of organic-inorganic composite film, microwave processing is an attractive field in modern material science. Various inorganic phases have been synthesized using microwave ovens operating at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. Here in this work, a 2.45 GHz microwave irradiation process is newly proposed for selective heating the nanocrystalline titanium oxide films of DSSC. The cell performance improved by microwave heating from 3.9 % to 5.5%.