Long-term stability of low-power dye-sensitised solar cells prepared by industrial methods

Encapsulated dye-sensitised solar modules designed for low-power indoor app lications have been prepared using industrial methods and equipment that ca n be applied to mass production. The modules have been tested for long-term stability. Especially, the influences of different illumination conditions , humidity, and operation conditions (e.g. short-circuit and open-circuit) have been evaluated. It is shown that the use of an inexpensive UV filter i n combination with a novel preparation technique and adequate module encaps ulation can provide dye-photovoltaic (dye PV) devices that are stable enoug h for utilisation in various low-power consumer applications. (C) 2001 Else vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.