Throughout the summer research has been conducted at South Dakota State University to try to relieve the worlds dependence on burning fossil fuels by finding inexpensive, yet efficient ways of harnessing the energy released by the solar systems largest power house, the sun. This research at SDSU is being conducted by making Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs), an inexpensive alternative solar cell that uses dye to assist in the absorbance of energy in sunlight.
The research at SDSU is being conducted primarily to increase the efficiency of DSSCs. Currently; the cells being produced at SDSU have efficiencies of 3-10%, while the more expensive traditional silica solar cells produce efficiencies of up to 30%. The measures that are being taken to improve the efficiencies of dye sensitized solar cells on campus is to experiment with and find a new sealing method that can be used and to find the more efficient co-absorbent that can be added to the N-719 dye in order to stop the light photons from going directly into the electrolyte.
Research in this area is important because as humans continue to primarily depend on fossil fuels to fulfill their energy needs we will not only run out of fuel in the future, but also cause serious damage to the earth as well as the human race. The burning fossil fuels are the main culprit in the global warming crisis. Bi products of burning fossil fuels also have been known to cause cardiac arrest and respiratory failure in humans.
