International Collaboration on Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

传统的太阳能电池利用硅来吸收阳光，从而产生电能。新一代太阳能电池正在研发中，其原理是模仿绿叶利用阳光驱动生物化学过程，从而将大气中的二氧化碳减少为糖和淀粉。这些所谓的染料敏化太阳能电池利用染料分子吸附在高表面积二氧化钛颗粒的薄多孔膜上来吸收阳光。当染料分子吸收光时，它们向二氧化钛中喷射电子，产生电压和电流。世界各地的几个小组正在研究这些新的太阳能电池，目前提案的目的是允许申请人访问三个国际领先的实验室进行讨论和联合测量，以促进科学理解和最终的技术进步

Conventional solar cells use silicon to absorb sunlight, generating electricity. A new generation of solar cells is being developed which is based on imitating the way that the green leaf uses sunlight to drive the biochemical process that lead to the reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide to sugar and starches. These so-called dye-sensitized solar cells use dye molecules adsorbed in a thin porous film of high surface area titanium dioxide particles to absorb sunlight. When the dye molecules absorb light, they eject electron into the titanium dioxide, giving rise to a voltage and a current. Several groups round the world are working on these new solar cells, and the objective of the current proposal is to allow the applicant to visit three internationally leading laboratories for discussions and joint measurements in order to advance scientific understanding and ultimately technological progress