| abstract |
Disclosed is a dye-sensitized oxide semiconductor electrode comprising an electrically conductive substrate, an oxide semiconductor film provided on a surface of said electrically conductive substrate, and a sensitizing dye adsorbed on said film, wherein the oxide semiconductor film has been further treated with at least one silanizing agent comprising the partial structure R 1 —Si—OR 2 , wherein R 1 and R 2 are each independently alkyl groups, or R 1 is an alkyl group and R 2 is hydrogen or aryl. Also disclosed are solar cells comprising said electrode and a method for improving the efficiency of the solar cells. The solar cells exhibit improved efficiency and other beneficial properties compared to similar cells not having the passivated electrode. |