Hole transporting dye as light harvesting antenna in dye-sensitized TiO2 hybrid solar cells

Abstract. We herein demonstrate the viability of utilizing the hole transporting medium of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells for light harvesting. When using a hole transporting dye (HTD) in addition to an interface dye (ID) bound to the surface of the mesoporous metal oxide scaffold, both are shown to contribute to the photocurrent. Efficient energy transfer (ET) from the HTD to the ID was accomplished by spectrally matching two triphenylamine dyes. The photoluminescence of the HTD was found to be quenched in the presence of the ID. In nanosecond transient absorption measurements, rapid formation of the oxidized HTD was observed after photoexcitation of the ID, demonstrating fast regeneration of the oxidized ID by the HTD. In solar cell devices comprising both the ID and HTD, the spectral response of the external quantum efficiency shows that both dyes contribute to the photocurrent, resulting in a doubling of the photocurrent. In comparison with devices comprising only TiO2 and the HTD, devices with the additional ID exhibited an increased photovoltage due to more efficient charge-carrier separation and energy transfer. Combining and matching HTDs with IDs for optimal ID regeneration but also providing ET is thus a viable means to optimize hybrid solar cells based on mesoporous TiO2.

[1]  B. Kippelen.  Organic Photovoltaics , 2007, 2007 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO).

[2]  Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin,et al.  Near-infrared sensitization of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells with a squaraine dye , 2012 .

[3]  Chiara Bertarelli,et al.  The effect of selective interactions at the interface of polymer–oxide hybrid solar cells , 2012 .

[4]  Udo Bach,et al.  Oxygen-induced doping of spiro-MeOTAD in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells and its impact on device performance. , 2012, Nano letters.

[5]  Tomas Edvinsson,et al.  Rhodanine dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells : spectroscopy, energy levels and photovoltaic performance. , 2009, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[6]  Anders Hagfeldt,et al.  Bilayer Hybrid Solar Cells Based on Triphenylamine−Thienylenevinylene Dye and TiO2 , 2010 .

[7]  Wei Zhang,et al.  High-performance hybrid solar cells employing metal-free organic dye modified TiO2 as photoelectrode , 2012 .

[8]  Michael Grätzel,et al.  The Effect of Hole Transport Material Pore Filling on Photovoltaic Performance in Solid‐State Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells , 2011 .

[9]  Henry J. Snaith,et al.  Facile infiltration of semiconducting polymer into mesoporous electrodes for hybrid solar cells , 2011 .

[10]  Monica Lira-Cantu,et al.  Oxide/polymer interfaces for hybrid and organic solar cells: Anatase vs. Rutile TiO2 , 2011 .

[11]  Niyazi Serdar Sariciftci,et al.  Hybrid solar cells , 2008 .

[12]  Yutaka Ohmori,et al.  High‐Performance Organic Photovoltaic Devices Using a New Amorphous Molecular Material with High Hole Drift Mobility, Tris[4‐(5‐phenylthiophen‐2‐yl)phenyl]amine , 2009 .

[13]  Jenny Nelson,et al.  Hybrid polymer-metal oxide thin films for photovoltaic applications{ , 2007 .

[14]  Craig A Grimes,et al.  High-efficiency Förster resonance energy transfer in solid-state dye sensitized solar cells. , 2010, Nano letters.

[15]  Lukas Schmidt-Mende,et al.  Nanostructured Organic and Hybrid Solar Cells , 2011, Advanced materials.

[16]  S. Soeparman,et al.  Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells , 2017 .

[17]  Thomas Pfadler,et al.  Synergistic effects of interfacial modifiers enhance current and voltage in hybrid solar cells , 2013 .

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

[19]  Jörg Ackermann,et al.  Solid‐state dye‐sensitized and bulk heterojunction solar cells using TiO2 and ZnO nanostructures: recent progress and new concepts at the borderline , 2012 .

[20]  M. Grätzel.  Dye-sensitized solar cells , 2003 .

[21]  Bin Liu,et al.  Highly Efficient Nanoporous TiO2‐Polythiophene Hybrid Solar Cells Based on Interfacial Modification Using a Metal‐Free Organic Dye , 2009 .

[22]  Michael D. McGehee,et al.  Nanostructured Organic—Inorganic Hybrid Solar Cells , 2009 .

[23]  Michael Grätzel,et al.  Tris(2-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine)cobalt(III) as p-type dopant for organic semiconductors and its application in highly efficient solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2011, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[24]  J. Teuscher,et al.  Lithium salts as "redox active" p-type dopants for organic semiconductors and their impact in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2013, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[25]  Frank Nüesch,et al.  Panchromatic response in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells containing phosphorescent energy relay dyes. , 2009, Angewandte Chemie.

[26]  Monica Lira-Cantu,et al.  Application of MEH-PPV/SnO2 bilayer as hybrid solar cell , 2009 .

[27]  Wilhelm T S Huck,et al.  Enhanced photoresponse in solid-state excitonic solar cells via resonant energy transfer and cascaded charge transfer from a secondary absorber. , 2010, Nano letters.

[28]  Michael Grätzel,et al.  Enhanced light harvesting in mesoporous TiO2/P3HT hybrid solar cells using a porphyrin dye. , 2011, Chemical communications.

[29]  Jean M. J. Fréchet,et al.  Increased light harvesting in dye-sensitized solar cells with energy relay dyes , 2009 .

[30]  Anders Hagfeldt,et al.  Contribution from a hole-conducting dye to the photocurrent in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2011, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[31]  Michael Grätzel,et al.  Enhanced charge mobility in a molecular hole transporter via addition of redox inactive ionic dopant: Implication to dye-sensitized solar cells , 2006 .

[32]  Anders Hagfeldt,et al.  Comparing spiro-OMeTAD and P3HT hole conductors in efficient solid state dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2012, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[33]  Michael D. McGehee,et al.  Effects of molecular interface modification in hybrid organic-inorganic photovoltaic cells , 2007 .

[34]  S. Jursenas,et al.  Impact of intramolecular twisting and exciton migration on emission efficiency of multifunctional fluorene-benzothiadiazole-carbazole compounds. , 2011, The Journal of chemical physics.

[35]  Tomas Torres,et al.  Time-evolution of poly(3-hexylthiophene) as an energy relay dye in dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2012, Nano letters.

[36]  Thomas Geiger,et al.  Built-in quantum dot antennas in dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2010, ACS nano.

[37]  Lukas Schmidt-Mende,et al.  Perspective: Hybrid solar cells: How to get the polymer to cooperate? , 2013 .

[38]  Udo Bach,et al.  Solid-state dye-sensitized mesoporous TiO2 solar cells , 2000 .

[39]  Michael D. McGehee,et al.  Enhancing the hole-conductivity of spiro-OMeTAD without oxygen or lithium salts by using spiro(TFSI)₂ in perovskite and dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2014, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[40]  Dieter Meissner,et al.  Hybrid solar cells based on inorganic nanoclusters and conjugated polymers , 2004 .

[41]  Dieter Meissner,et al.  Hybrid Solar Cells Based on Nanoparticles of CuInS2 in Organic Matrices , 2003 .