An integrated power pack of dye-sensitized solar cell and Li battery based on double-sided TiO2 nanotube arrays

Nano Lett. 2012 May 9;12(5):2520-3. doi: 10.1021/nl3007159. Epub 2012 Apr 25.

Abstract

We present a new approach to fabricate an integrated power pack by hybridizing energy harvest and storage processes. This power pack incorporates a series-wound dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) and a lithium ion battery (LIB) on the same Ti foil that has double-sided TiO(2) nanotube (NTs) arrays. The solar cell part is made of two different cosensitized tandem solar cells based on TiO(2) nanorod arrays (NRs) and NTs, respectively, which provide an open-circuit voltage of 3.39 V and a short-circuit current density of 1.01 mA/cm(2). The power pack can be charged to about 3 V in about 8 min, and the discharge capacity is about 38.89 μAh under the discharge density of 100 μA. The total energy conversion and storage efficiency for this system is 0.82%. Such an integrated power pack could serve as a power source for mobile electronics.