JP2006244954A - Wiring connection structure of dye-sensitized solar battery cell and dye-sensitized solar cell module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wiring connection structure of a dye-sensitized solar battery cell which is manufactured at low cost by simplifying the wiring connection structure between the cells, and also to provide a dye-sensitized solar cell module. <P>SOLUTION: This is a wiring connection structure 11 of a dye-sensitized solar battery cell in which one adjoining cell 1 and the other cell 1 are electrically connected in series through a cell boundary region 15 on a substrate, and the upper electrode 2 of the one cell 1 and the lower electrode 3 of the other cell 1 are electrically connected at the outside of the cell boundary region 15. The wiring structure 11 of the cells has a current collector 6 consisting of a metallic wiring layer at the upper electrode 2 and the lower electrode 3, and it is preferable that this current collector 6 has terminal parts 12, 13 extended to the outside 16 of the cell collection region 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cell wiring connection structure in which a plurality of dye-sensitized solar cells are electrically connected in series and a dye-sensitized solar cell module using the same, and in particular, the internal structure is simplified and inexpensive. Can be manufactured.

Unlike conventional solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells do not use expensive semiconductors such as silicon (Si) and can be manufactured at a relatively low cost. Is being viewed.
The basic structure of the dye-sensitized solar cell is composed of a transparent conductive electrode (upper electrode) provided on a transparent substrate, an electrolyte layer, a color former layer (spectral sensitizing dye), a metal oxide semiconductor layer, and a substrate. (Refer to Patent Document 1, for example).

In conventional solar cells, a technique for collecting current by providing a grid-like current collecting electrode electrically connected to a transparent electrode layer made of a transparent conductive film on a light receiving surface in order to efficiently extract current is known. It has been.
A transparent conductive film is a thin layer of a metal oxide semiconductor laminated on a transparent substrate by heat evaporation or sputtering. Since the specific resistance is larger than a good conductor such as metal, the cell area is large. Is required to make the surface resistivity of the transparent conductive film as low as possible. In order to reduce the surface resistivity, it is desirable to increase the thickness of the film as much as possible. However, if the thickness of the metal oxide semiconductor is increased, the light transmittance decreases. Limited by balance with resistivity. Therefore, since there is a limit to lowering the surface resistivity with only the transparent conductive film, the surface resistivity of the transparent electrode is lowered by disposing a current collecting electrode made of metal (good conductor) on the transparent conductive film. Yes.
However, the collector electrode has a lower surface resistivity than the transparent conductive film but is inferior in light transmittance (is opaque). Therefore, if the collector electrode area is large, the effective area of the light receiving surface is lost. For this reason, Patent Document 2 describes a technique for thinning a current collecting electrode by printing by an ink jet method.

On the other hand, since the electromotive force obtained by a single solar cell is limited, it is necessary to connect a plurality of cells in series in order to extract a practical voltage.
In the case of a conventional solar cell, the power generation layer is made of a solid semiconductor such as silicon, so cell integration is easy, but in the case of a dye-sensitized solar cell, an electrolyte is used for the power generation layer. Therefore, cell sealing is necessary to prevent electrolyte leakage.
Patent Document 3 describes a method of connecting a plurality of cells in series by providing external wiring (inter-cell connection) such as a lead wire or a connector outside the cell.
In Patent Document 4, a plurality of cells are arranged side by side between two substrates arranged in parallel, and are not arranged on both surfaces of an electrode connection portion that connects a transparent electrode of one cell and a back electrode of an adjacent cell. A structure in which conductive cells are provided to partition each cell is described.
In Patent Document 5, a plurality of cells are arranged side by side between two substrates arranged in parallel, and a transparent electrode of one cell and a back electrode of an adjacent cell are connected by an anisotropic conductive material, An anisotropic conductive material that exhibits conductivity in the direction perpendicular to the substrate but maintains electrical insulation in the direction along the substrate is used to connect and seal between cells. The configuration is described.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-220380 JP 2003-297158 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-086822 JP 2002-093476 A JP 2003-243052 A

However, as in Patent Document 3, when a plurality of cells individually sealed with an electrolyte solution are connected by external wiring, it is necessary to provide a certain interval for storing the external wiring between the cells. There is a problem that the light collection efficiency in a fixed installation area is lowered.
Further, as in Patent Documents 4 and 5, when a plurality of cells are arranged side by side between two substrates and the connection between the cells is performed by internal wiring provided between the substrates, the connection and sealing between the cells are performed. Since the structure between the cells needs to be stopped in a narrow space between the cells, the sealing becomes uncertain and the electrolyte leaks and it is difficult to keep the manufacturing cost low. There is a problem that.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a wiring connection structure of a dye-sensitized solar cell and a dye-sensitized solar battery module that can be manufactured at low cost by simplifying a wiring connection structure between cells. It is an issue to provide.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a wiring connection structure in which one cell adjacent to another cell via a cell boundary region is electrically connected in series on one substrate. A wiring connection structure for a dye-sensitized solar cell, wherein the upper electrode of the other cell and the lower electrode of the other cell are electrically connected outside the cell boundary region.
In the wiring connection structure of the dye-sensitized solar cell of the present invention, the upper electrode and / or the lower electrode includes a current collector made of a metal wiring layer, and the current collector extends outside the cell boundary region. It is preferable to have an extended terminal portion.

In addition, the present invention provides a dye-sensitized solar cell module having the above-described wiring connection structure for dye-sensitized solar cells.
In the dye-sensitized solar cell module of the present invention, it is preferable that a power generation layer for generating electricity with light is sealed for each cell. As a means for sealing the power generation layer for each cell, for example, a sealing material made of an electrically insulating resin can be used.
The dye-sensitized solar cell module of the present invention can also employ a configuration having at least one cell assembly in which a large number of band-shaped cells are connected in the short-side direction of the cells. Furthermore, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the two cell aggregates are adjacent to each other via a cell boundary region on the short side of the cells constituting each other.

According to the present invention, since the wiring connection between the cells adjacent to each other via the cell boundary region is performed outside the cell boundary region on one base material, both the cells have the wiring connection structure between the cells. It can be provided on the substrate and can be easily configured, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to gather cells at high density (in a smaller area) by narrowing the cell interval.
Since the cell boundary region can be used exclusively for electrolyte sealing (for example, partition walls), even when an electrolyte with high fluidity is used as the electrolyte, the electrolyte does not leak easily and has excellent durability. A sensitized solar cell can be provided.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings based on the best mode.
FIGS. 1-6 is drawing which shows the 1st example of a dye-sensitized solar cell module of this invention, FIG. 1 is a top view of a dye-sensitized solar cell module, FIG. 2 is A- of FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an upper substrate provided with an upper electrode, and FIG. 5 is a sealing material with release paper. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a lower substrate provided with a lower electrode.
In FIG. 1, the power generation layer 4 and the current collector 6 are drawn with solid lines on the assumption that the upper base material 22 has transparency. In FIG. 4, the arrangement of the upper base material 22 is reversed from that in FIG. 1 so that the upper electrode 2 is on the near side of the page. 4 and 6, the alternate long and two short dashes line indicates the boundary line of the region in contact with the power generation layer 4. In FIG. 5, in order to clarify the shape of the sealing material 24, the sealing material 24 is hatched.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21 is a dye-sensitized solar cell module formed by connecting a plurality of cells 1, 1,... In series and has transparency. Upper substrate 22, upper electrode 2 provided on the inner surface of upper substrate 22, lower substrate 23, lower electrode 3 provided on the inner surface of lower substrate 23, upper substrate 22 and lower substrate And the power generation layer 4 provided between the power generation layer 4 and the power generation layer 4.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cell 1 (dye-sensitized solar cell) includes a portion in which an upper electrode 2, a power generation layer 4, and a lower electrode 3 are stacked in this order.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21 includes a cell aggregate region 14 in which a plurality of cells 1, 1,... Are aggregated and an external region 16 that is outside the cell aggregate region 14. Have. 3, the cells 1, 1,... Are separated by a cell boundary region 15 in the cell collection region 14.
The external area 16 is an area set as a part on the base materials 22 and 23, although the area occupied by each cell 1, 1,... Does not overlap with the cell boundary area 15.
In this embodiment, each cell 1 has a long strip shape on the left and right in FIG. These cells 1, 1,... Are connected in the short side direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) of the cell 1 to constitute one cell integrated body 18. On the substrate, the cell assembly 18 occupies a substantially square area in plan view.

The upper substrate 22 is preferably one having transparency in the visible region and generally having a total light transmittance of 90% or more. Especially, the resin film which has flexibility is used suitably at the point which the handleability of the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21 is excellent.
Specific examples of the transparent resin film used for the upper substrate 22 include polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), acrylic resins, epoxy resins, fluororesins, silicone resins, polycarbonate resins, Single-layer film having a thickness of 50 to 300 μm made of acetate resin, triacetate resin, polyarylate resin, polyvinyl chloride, polysulfone resin, polyether sulfone resin, polyimide resin, polyamide resin, polyolefin resin, cyclic polyolefin resin, or the like A composite film having a plurality of layers made of a resin is exemplified.
In addition, you may coat the resin for providing weather resistance to the outer surface (upper surface of FIG. 2, FIG. 3) of the upper base material 22 as needed. Further, glass such as soda glass, heat-resistant glass, or quartz glass may be used as the upper substrate 22.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper electrode 2 is provided on the inner surface of the upper base material 22 (the lower surface in FIG. 3). The upper electrode 2 includes a transparent conductive film 5 partitioned for each cell 1 and a current collector 6 connected to the transparent conductive film 5 of each partition.
The current collector 6 collects current from the transparent conductive film 5, is disposed at a position not covering the power generation layer 4 so as not to contact the electrolyte 8 of the power generation layer 4, and encapsulates 24 surrounding the cell 1. And the transparent conductive film 5.

The transparent conductive film 5 is provided with a gap 5a in order to electrically separate the cells 1, 1,. As the transparent conductive film 5, titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium oxide (In ₂ O ₃ ), tin oxide (SnO ₂ ), tin-doped indium oxide (ITO), zinc doped Indium oxide (IZO), antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO), fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO), etc. are preferred, but the film conductivity, transparency, and etching ITO is particularly preferable because of easy patterning.
The transparent conductive film 5 can be formed by a known thin film forming method such as a heat deposition method, a sputtering method, a CVD method, a plasma CVD method, an ion plating method, a sol-gel method, or a wet coating method. The thickness of the transparent conductive film 5 is 200 nm or less, preferably 100 nm or less.
In order to obtain high power generation efficiency, it is desirable that the total light transmittance of the transparent conductive film 5 is as high as possible and the surface resistivity is as low as possible. The total light transmittance is preferably 70% or more, more preferably 80% or more. The surface resistivity is preferably 100Ω / □ or less, more preferably 10Ω / □ or less.

The current collector 6 is preferably made of a material having better conductivity than that of the transparent conductive film 5. Specific examples thereof include gold, silver, copper, platinum, nickel, aluminum, iron and other metals, and the metal 1 Examples include alloys containing at least seeds and carbon.
The current collector 6 is provided on the transparent conductive film 5 by a heating vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, a CVD method, a printing method using a conductive paste, or the like. As the conductive paste, a paste in which metal fine powder having high electrical conductivity such as gold, silver, copper, platinum, nickel is mixed is used.
The current collector 6 has a thickness of 15 μm or less, preferably 7 μm or less, and a line width of 60 μm or less, preferably 40 μm or less, more preferably 25 μm or less. If the thickness of the current collector 6 exceeds 15 μm, light that is obliquely incident on the transparent upper base material 22 is blocked, which is not preferable. On the other hand, when the line width of the current collector 6 exceeds 60 μm, the aperture ratio becomes low and the metal wire is easily visible, which is not preferable.
By thinning the line width of the current collector 6, the total light transmittance of the electrode substrate is improved by light diffraction, scattering, etc., compared to when the line width is large, and the power generation efficiency of the solar cell is improved. be able to.

The lower substrate 23 is a substrate that supports the lower electrode 3, and the material is not particularly limited. However, in terms of the handleability of the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21, a flexible resin film is preferable. Used.
Specific examples of the resin film used for the lower substrate 23 include polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), acrylic resins, epoxy resins, fluororesins, silicone resins, polycarbonate resins, and diacetates. Single-layer film having a thickness of 50 to 300 μm made of resin, triacetate resin, polyarylate resin, polyvinyl chloride, polysulfone resin, polyether sulfone resin, polyimide resin, polyamide resin, polyolefin resin, cyclic polyolefin resin, or the transparent resin A multi-layer composite film consisting of

As shown in FIG. 3, the lower electrode 3 is provided on the inner surface of the lower substrate 23 (the upper surface in FIG. 3). The lower electrode 3 can be formed from a good conductor such as a metal, a semiconductor such as a metal oxide semiconductor, carbon, etc., but platinum or carbon is preferred from the viewpoint of iodine resistance to the iodine compound contained in the electrolyte 8. Used for. In order to separate the lower electrode 3 into cells 1, 1,..., A gap 3a is provided in the lower electrode 3 (see FIGS. 3 and 6).
The lower electrode 3 is formed by a heating vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, a CVD method, a printing method using a conductive paste (for example, screen printing), or the like. As the conductive paste, a paste containing conductive particles is used.

The inter-cell wiring connection structure 11 used in the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21 according to the present embodiment includes two cells 1 and 1 that are adjacent to each other via a cell boundary region 15 between two base materials 22 and 23. 1 and 2, the upper electrode 2 of one cell 1 and the lower electrode 3 of the other cell 1 extend to the external region 16 outside the cell boundary region 15 to connect the terminal portions 12 and 13 to each other. The upper electrode 2 and the lower electrode 3 of the adjacent cell are electrically connected by connecting the terminal portions 12 and 13 to each other. Thereby, the connection structure of the serial wiring between cells can be simplified.
The dye-sensitized solar cell module 21 shown in FIG. 1 includes eight cells 1, 1,..., And all the wiring connections (seven locations) between two adjacent cells are connected to the above-described wiring between cells. The connection structure 11 is adopted. When a plurality of cells 1, 1,... Are electrically connected in series, one of the electrodes 2 and 3 of the cell 1 at both ends is not used for the wiring connection structure 11 between the cells. Is used as an extraction electrode 17 for extracting the dye to the outside of the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21. In the case of this embodiment, one of the two lead-out electrodes 17 and 17 (in the lower left corner of FIG. 1) is the terminal portion 12 extending from the upper electrode 2 of the cell 1 on one end side, and the other (see FIG. 1 at the upper left corner) is a terminal portion 13 extending from the lower electrode 3 of the cell 1 on the other end side.

When at least one of the two base materials 22 and 23 is flexible, the upper base electrode 2 side terminal portion 12 and the lower electrode 3 side terminal portion 13 are obtained by bending and overlapping the base materials 22 and 23. Can be brought into contact with each other for electrical conduction. In the example shown in FIG. 2, one side edge 22 a of the upper base material 22 is bent toward the lower base material 23. When the two base materials 22 and 23 are not flexible, it is necessary to provide a lead wire on at least one of the base materials.
In order to maintain the electrical connection between the terminal portions 12 and 13, a known technique can be used. For example, the two terminal portions 12 and 13 can be joined with a conductive adhesive containing conductive particles, solder, or the like. For example, a method in which a clip or a flexible cover film is pressed from the outside of the base materials 22 and 23, or two base materials 22 and 23 are bonded with a hot melt adhesive or the like can be used.
Further, the terminal portion 12 on the upper electrode 2 side is obtained by extending the current collector 6 to the external region 16. Thereby, the current collected from the upper electrode 2 via the current collector 6 can be efficiently passed to the lower electrode 3 of the adjacent cell.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the power generation layer 4 includes a metal oxide semiconductor film 7 on which a spectral sensitizing dye is supported, and an electrolyte 8 (particularly, an electrolytic solution). The metal oxide semiconductor film 7 is formed in a film shape on the transparent conductive film 5 of the upper electrode 2. The electrolyte 8 is sealed between the upper electrode 2 and the lower electrode 3, and not only fills the gap between the metal oxide semiconductor film 7 and the lower electrode 3 but also the inside of the metal oxide semiconductor film 7. It has also penetrated.

Examples of the metal oxide semiconductor film 7 include titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), zinc oxide (ZnO), tin oxide (SnO ₂ ), tin-doped indium oxide (ITO), zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ), magnesium oxide ( A porous film made of one or more known metal oxide semiconductors such as MgO) can be used. As a metal oxide semiconductor, various titanium oxides such as anatase type titanium oxide, rutile type titanium oxide, amorphous titanium oxide, metatitanic acid, orthotitanic acid, titanium hydroxide, hydrous oxide, etc. from the viewpoint of stability and safety. Those composed of fine particles of titanium are preferred.
The thickness of the metal oxide semiconductor film 7 is generally 10 nm or more, and preferably 100 nm to 1 μm.

The spectral sensitizing dye is adsorbed as a monomolecular film on the surface of the metal oxide semiconductor constituting the metal oxide semiconductor film 7. This spectral sensitizing dye has absorption in the visible light region and / or the infrared light region, and one or more of various metal complexes and organic dyes can be used. For example, those having a functional group such as a carboxyl group, a hydroxyalkyl group, a hydroxyl group, a sulfone group, and a carboxyalkyl group in the molecule of the spectral sensitizing dye are preferable because the adsorption to the metal oxide semiconductor film 7 is fast. Moreover, a metal complex is preferable from the viewpoint of excellent spectral sensitization effect and durability. As this metal complex, metal phthalocyanines such as copper phthalocyanine and titanyl phthalocyanine, chlorophyll, hemin, and known complexes of ruthenium, osmium, iron, zinc and the like can be used.
Further, as the organic dye, metal free phthalocyanine, cyanine dye, merocyanine dye, xanthene dye, triphenylmethane dye can be used.

Moreover, as the electrolyte 8 sealed between the upper electrode 2 and the lower electrode 3, an electrolytic solution containing a redox electrolyte such as an I ⁻ / I ₃ ⁻ system, a Br ⁻ / Br ₃ ⁻ system, or a quinone / hydroquinone system can be used. Can be mentioned. Such an electrolytic solution can be obtained by a conventionally known method such as dissolving lithium iodide or iodine in a solvent such as ethanol or acetonitrile. Further, the electrolyte 8 may be a liquid electrolyte or a solid polymer electrolyte containing the same in a polymer substance.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the sealing material 24 is an outer frame that liquid-tightly seals between the two substrates 22 and 23 so that the electrolyte 8 does not leak outside the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21. .. Are formed in a lattice shape having a partition portion 25 and a partition wall portion 26 that isolates the inside of the outer frame portion 25 for each cell 1, 1,. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the sealing material 24 is disposed on the current collector 6 (under the transparent conductive film 5 in FIG. 3) so that the current collector 6 does not contact the electrolyte 8. ) Also covers the surface.

A space 27 surrounded by the outer frame portion 25 and the partition wall portion 26 is in a strip shape (elongated rectangular shape), and the power generation layer 4 of each cell 1 is accommodated in each space 27. The space 27 is a through-hole penetrating both surfaces of the sealing material 24 so that the power generation layer 4 accommodated in the space 27 can come into contact with the upper electrode 2 and the lower electrode 3.
As described above, when the cell integrated body 18 is formed by connecting a large number of the band-like cells 1 in the short side direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) of the cells 1, the wiring connection structure 11 between the cells is arranged. The cell outer region 16 can be collectively provided on the side edges (left side in FIG. 1) of the base materials 22 and 23, and the area of the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21 can be further reduced.

The material of the sealing material 24 is not particularly limited as long as it has corrosion resistance (particularly iodine resistance) with respect to the components contained in the electrolyte 8, but is not limited to thermoplastic resin, thermosetting resin, ultraviolet curable resin, electron beam curing. Resin, rubber, metal, etc. can be used. In particular, a material having flexibility is preferable in terms of handleability of the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21.
At least the surface of the sealing material 24 needs to have electrical insulation. For this reason, when the material of the sealing material 24 is comprised from electroconductive materials, such as a metal, it insulation-coats with resin, rubber | gum, etc. which have electrical insulation.

The sealing material 24 can be formed by a processing method such as molding, punching, or cutting. The method for joining the sealing material 24 and the base materials 22 and 23 is not particularly limited. For example, an adhesive (for example, an acrylic type) is provided on both surfaces of the sealing material 24 (surfaces in contact with the base materials 22 and 23). And a method of bonding to the base materials 22 and 23. In this case, a laminate in which the release paper 28 is laminated on the adhesive is prepared, and the release paper 28 is peeled off immediately before the sealing material 24 is laminated with the upper base material 22 and the lower base material 23. Bonding the base material 22 and the base material 23 is preferable from the viewpoint of protecting the adhesive layer.
FIG. 5 shows a state in which the release paper 28 on the front side of the paper is peeled and the release paper 28 is adhered to the back side of the sealing material 24.
Further, when the sealing material 24 is formed from a curable resin such as a thermosetting resin, an ultraviolet curable resin, an electron beam curable resin, etc., one of the upper base material 22 and the lower base material 23 is The upper base material 22, the sealing material 24, and the lower base material 23 can be joined by a method in which an uncured resin is applied to the base material and the other base material is overlaid and then cured.

The procedure for assembling the dye-sensitized solar cell module of the present embodiment is not particularly limited, and can be, for example, according to the following procedure.
First, an upper substrate 22 provided with the upper electrode 2 (see FIG. 4), a sealing material 24 (see FIG. 5) having a space (through hole) 27 corresponding to the cell 1, and a lower portion provided with the lower electrode 3 A base material 23 (see FIG. 6) is prepared, and a metal oxide semiconductor film 7 carrying a spectral sensitizing dye is formed on the upper electrode 2.
For the formation of the metal oxide semiconductor film 7, a known thin film such as a vapor deposition method (vacuum deposition method), a physical vapor deposition method, a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, an ion plating method, a magnetron sputtering method, or a CVD method is used. A forming method can be used. The spectral sensitizing dye is supported by immersing the upper substrate 22 provided with the metal oxide semiconductor film 7 and the upper electrode 2 at room temperature or under heating in a solution obtained by dissolving the spectral sensitizing dye in an appropriate organic solvent. You can do it.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper base material 22, the upper electrode 2, and the sealing material 24 are arranged so that the position of the metal oxide semiconductor film 7 of the upper electrode 2 and the position of the space 27 of the sealing material 24 overlap. The power generation layer 4 is formed by laminating the lower electrode 3 and the lower base material 23 in this order and encapsulating the electrolyte 8 in the space 27 of the sealing material 24.
As a method for encapsulating the electrolyte 8, for example, when the electrolyte 8 is an electrolyte having high fluidity, an injection hole (not shown) is provided in the upper base material 22 or the lower base material 23, and the base materials 22, 23 and A method may be used in which the injection hole communicates with the space 27 when the sealing material 24 is laminated, and the injection hole is closed after the electrolyte is injected. In addition, as a method for encapsulating the electrolyte 8, a known method selected according to the properties of the electrolyte 8 can be employed.

According to the configuration of the present embodiment, since the wiring connection between the cells adjacent to each other via the cell boundary region is performed outside the cell boundary region on one base material, these cells arrange the wiring connection structure between the cells. It can be provided on the base material that has been used, and the installation area can be reduced compared to the case where external wiring is used, and the wiring connection structure between cells can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Is possible. In addition, it is possible to gather cells at high density (in a smaller area) by narrowing the cell interval.
Since the cell boundary region can be used exclusively for electrolyte sealing (for example, partition walls), even when a highly fluid electrolyte is used as the electrolyte, the electrolyte does not easily leak and is durable. It is possible to provide a dye-sensitized solar cell excellent in.

As mentioned above, although this invention has been demonstrated based on suitable embodiment, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example, Various modifications are possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.
For example, the number of the terminal portions 12 and 13 for connecting the upper electrode 2 and the lower electrode 3 is one by one in the inter-cell wiring connection structure of the first embodiment, but is particularly limited to this. is not. In the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21A of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, one current collector 6 and one terminal portion 12 on the upper electrode 2 side are provided on both sides in the short side direction of the band-shaped cell 1, An example in which a total of two are provided is shown. Also in this example, the current collector 6 is disposed at a position not covering the power generation layer 4, and is sandwiched between the sealing material 24 and the transparent conductive film 5, so that the current collector 6 is in contact with the electrolyte 8. It is supposed not to.
In addition to this, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which a plurality of terminal portions 13 on the lower electrode 3 side are provided.

Further, in the dye-sensitized solar cell modules 21 and 21A of the first and second embodiments, one cell assembly 18 formed by connecting a plurality of cells 1 in a row is provided in the cell assembly region 14. However, it is also possible to provide a plurality of cell assemblies 18 and connect them in series.
In the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21B of the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the cell assemblies 18, 18 in which the strip-shaped cells 1, 1,. Two cell aggregates 18 and 18 are adjacent to each other via a cell boundary region 15 (extending vertically in the center of FIG. 9) on the short side of the cell 1 constituting each other. It has been arranged.
9, cell connection structures 11, 11,... For connecting the cells 1, 1,... Of the left cell integrated body 18 in series are provided on the left side edge portions of the base materials 22, 23, and The cell connection structures 11, 11,... For connecting the cells 1, 1,... Of the cell assembly 18 in series are provided on the right side edge of the base materials 22, 23. The cell connection structure 11 that connects the cell 1 and the cell 1 at the upper end of the right cell integrated body 18 is provided at the upper ends of the base materials 22 and 23. Further, one terminal portion 12 of the cell 1 at the lower end of the left cell integrated body 18 serves as one take-out electrode 17, and the other terminal portion 13 of the cell 1 at the lower end of the right cell integrated body 18 is connected to the other. A take-out electrode 17 is formed.
In the case of the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21B of the third embodiment, by providing a plurality of cell integrated bodies 18, the total number of cells 1, 1,... Connected in series is increased and a higher voltage is taken out. Can do. Further, by providing the cell connection structures 11, 11,... On the three sides of the dye-sensitized solar cell module 21B, the space on the base materials 22, 23 can be used effectively.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a dye-sensitized solar cell that can take out a high voltage and is excellent in economy.

It is a top view which shows the 1st form example of the dye-sensitized solar cell module of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is a partial expanded sectional view which follows the BB line of FIG. It is a top view which shows the upper base material in which the upper electrode in the 1st form example was provided. It is a top view which shows the sealing material with a release paper in a 1st form example. It is a top view which shows the lower base material in which the lower electrode in the 1st form example was provided. It is a top view which shows the 2nd example of a dye-sensitized solar cell module of this invention. It is a partial expanded sectional view which follows the CC line of FIG. It is a top view which shows the 3rd example of a dye-sensitized solar cell module of this invention. FIG. 10 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 9.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cell, 2 ... Upper electrode, 3 ... Lower electrode, 4 ... Electric power generation layer, 6 ... Current collector, 11 ... Wiring connection structure between cells, 12, 13 ... Terminal part, 14 ... Cell assembly area | region, 15 ... Cell Boundary region, 16 ... external region, 18 ... cell assembly, 21, 21A, 21B ... dye-sensitized solar cell module, 22 ... upper base material, 23 ... lower base material, 24 ... sealing material.

Claims (7)

A wiring connection structure for electrically connecting one cell and another cell adjacent to each other via a cell boundary region on one substrate,
The wiring connection structure of a dye-sensitized solar cell, wherein the upper electrode of the one cell and the lower electrode of the other cell are electrically connected outside the cell boundary region.   The said upper electrode and / or the said lower electrode are equipped with the electrical power collector which consists of metal wiring layers, The said electrical power collector has a terminal part extended out of the said cell boundary area | region, The said 1st aspect is characterized by the above-mentioned. Wiring connection structure of the dye-sensitized solar cell as described.   A dye-sensitized solar cell module comprising the wiring connection structure of the dye-sensitized solar cell according to claim 1.   The dye-sensitized solar cell module according to claim 3, wherein a power generation layer for generating electricity with light is sealed for each cell.   The dye-sensitized solar cell module according to claim 4, wherein a sealing material made of an electrically insulating resin is provided as means for sealing the power generation layer for each cell.   The dye-sensitized solar cell module according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the dye-sensitized solar cell module includes a plurality of band-shaped cells and at least one cell integrated body arranged in a short side direction of the cells.   The dye-sensitized solar cell module according to claim 6, wherein the two cell assemblies are adjacent to each other via a cell boundary region on a short side of the cells constituting each other.

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