Dye sensitised solar cells (DSCs) have been assembled directly onto a prepainted construction steel substrate. This has been achieved by chemically isolating the underlying substrate through the application of a high temperature resistant organic polymer rendered conducting by applying a 1·2 μm collection electrode of magnetron sputtered titanium. The resultant DSCs achieved 2·9% energy conversion efficiency under one sun illumination compared to 3·2% for identical cells manufactured on 1 mm thick Ti coupons. The slight reduction in efficiency reflects the increasing resistance of the substrate 1·2 μm Ti layer, which results from microcracking during the titania sintering step.
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