Chemical diffusion coefficient of electrons in nanostructured semiconductor electrodes and dye-sensitized solar cells

The properties and physical interpretation of the electron diffusion coefficient, Dn, observed in nanostructured semiconductors and dye-sensitized solar cells by small perturbation electrical and electrooptical techniques are investigated. The chemical diffusion coefficient is defined as the product of a thermodynamic factor (that accounts for the effect of nonideal statistics in a gradient of chemical potential) and a jump diffusion coefficient (that depends on average hopping distances and rates). The thermodynamic and kinetic similarities, as well as the differences, between interacting ions in the lattice and electrons in nanostructured semiconductors are discussed. From these considerations, the chemical diffusion coefficient of electrons for multiple trapping transport in nanoporous dye solar cells can be calculated indirectly, and the results are in agreement with the reduction of the kinetic-transport equations in the quasistatic approximation. The chemical diffusion coefficient in several models ...