Recent Advances on Multifunctional Nanocarbons Used in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Throughout recent years the implementation of nanocarbons into dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) has resulted in important breakthroughs.  Most relevant are in this context: i) the enhancement of charge transport and charge collection in nanocarbon-doped electrodes, ii) the introduction of nanocarbon interlayers that simultaneously reduce the charge recombination and increase the charge collection efficiency, iii) the use of nanocarbon-based, iodine-free, solid-state electrolytes featuring excellent diffusion coefficients and catalytic efficiencies, iv) the use of novel nanocarbon-based hybrid dyes, and v) the use of nanocarbons towards platinum-free counter electrodes.  The first four aforementioned aspects are thoroughly described in this review.