High efficiency solid-state photovoltaic device due to inhibition of interface charge recombination

The performance of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells based on spiro-MeOTAD was considerably improved by controlling charge recombination across the interface of the heterojunction. This was achieved by blending the hole conductor matrix with a combination of 4-tert-butylpyridine (tBP) and Li[CF3SO2]2N. Open circuit voltages Uoc over 900 mV and short circuit currents Isc up to 5.1 mA were obtained, yielding an overall efficiency of 2.56% at AM1.5 illumination. These values have been fully confirmed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratories for a device with an active area of 1.07 cm2, signifying a dramatic improvement compared to previously reported values for a similar device.

[1]  C. Kelly,et al.  Cation-Controlled Interfacial Charge Injection in Sensitized Nanocrystalline TiO2 , 1999 .

[2]  M. Grätzel,et al.  A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO2 films , 1991, Nature.

[3]  Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin,et al.  Conversion of light to electricity by cis-X2bis(2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylate)ruthenium(II) charge-transfer sensitizers (X = Cl-, Br-, I-, CN-, and SCN-) on nanocrystalline titanium dioxide electrodes , 1993 .

[4]  David R. Klug,et al.  Parameters Influencing Charge Recombination Kinetics in Dye-Sensitized Nanocrystalline Titanium Dioxide Films , 2000 .

[5]  Josef Salbeck,et al.  Solid-state dye-sensitized mesoporous TiO2 solar cells with high photon-to-electron conversion efficiencies , 1998, Nature.

[6]  U. Bach,et al.  Charge Separation in Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Heterojunction Solar Cells , 1999 .

[7]  Arthur J. Frank,et al.  CHARGE RECOMBINATION IN DYE-SENSITIZED NANOCRYSTALLINE TIO2 SOLAR CELLS , 1997 .

[8]  Udo Bach,et al.  Modification of TiO2 heterojunctions with benzoic acid derivatives in hybrid molecular solid-state devices , 2000 .

[9]  Ladislav Kavan,et al.  Highly efficient semiconducting TiO2 photoelectrodes prepared by aerosol pyrolysis , 1995 .

[10]  Donald Fitzmaurice,et al.  Spectroscopic determination of flatband potentials for polycrystalline titania electrodes in nonaqueous solvents , 1993 .

[11]  A. J. Frank,et al.  Band Edge Movement and Recombination Kinetics in Dye-Sensitized Nanocrystalline TiO2 Solar Cells: A Study by Intensity Modulated Photovoltage Spectroscopy , 1997 .