Toward Totally Flexible Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Titanium Grids and Polymeric Electrolyte

In this work, we present a novelty in the dye-sensitized solar cell scenario: a quasi-solid and completely flexible configuration based on plastic substrates and metallic meshes as support. The aim is to obtain a portable efficient device that can be competitive in the solar market due to the low cost and easy-to-prepare materials used for its fabrication. To fulfill this purpose, three different typologies of devices are proposed and tested in order to move from a rigid to a completely flexible setup in a gradual way. Materials and cells have been thoroughly characterized and tested by means of physicochemical, electrical, and electrochemical measurements to investigate the observed performances and the results that are reported in this paper.