Efficient dye-sensitized photovoltaic wires based on an organic redox electrolyte.

An organic thiolate/disulfide redox couple with low absorption in the visible region was developed for use in fabricating novel dye-sensitized photovoltaic wires with an aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) fiber as the counter electrode. These flexible wire devices achieved a maximal energy conversion efficiency of 7.33%, much higher than the value of 5.97% for the conventional I(-)/I3(-) redox couple. In addition, the aligned CNT fiber also greatly outperforms the conventional Pt counter electrode with a maximal efficiency of 2.06% based on the thiolate/disulfide redox couple.

[1]  Alison B. Walker,et al.  Dye-sensitized solar cells based on oriented TiO2 nanotube arrays: transport, trapping, and transfer of electrons. , 2008, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[2]  Michael Grätzel,et al.  Porphyrin-Sensitized Solar Cells with Cobalt (II/III)–Based Redox Electrolyte Exceed 12 Percent Efficiency , 2011, Science.

[3]  Huisheng Peng,et al.  Designing Aligned Inorganic Nanotubes at the Electrode Interface: Towards Highly Efficient Photovoltaic Wires , 2012, Advanced materials.

[4]  Li Li,et al.  Flexible, light-weight, ultrastrong, and semiconductive carbon nanotube fibers for a highly efficient solar cell. , 2011, Angewandte Chemie.

[5]  Leone Spiccia,et al.  High-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells with ferrocene-based electrolytes. , 2011, Nature chemistry.

[6]  Thomas W. Hamann,et al.  Dye-sensitized solar cell redox shuttles , 2011 .

[7]  Craig A Grimes,et al.  Long vertically aligned titania nanotubes on transparent conducting oxide for highly efficient solar cells. , 2009, Nature nanotechnology.

[8]  Wei Guo,et al.  Economical Pt-free catalysts for counter electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2012, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[9]  A. Hagfeldt,et al.  Organic redox couples and organic counter electrode for efficient organic dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2011, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[10]  Yanhong Luo,et al.  Non‐Corrosive, Non‐Absorbing Organic Redox Couple for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells , 2010 .

[11]  Yaguang Wei,et al.  Optical fiber/nanowire hybrid structures for efficient three-dimensional dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2009, Angewandte Chemie.

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

[13]  Zhibin Yang,et al.  A novel fabrication of a well distributed and aligned carbon nanotube film electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells , 2012 .

[14]  A. Hagfeldt,et al.  Efficient organic-dye-sensitized solar cells based on an iodine-free electrolyte. , 2010, Angewandte Chemie.

[15]  Thomas W. Hamann,et al.  New architectures for dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2008, Chemistry.

[16]  W. D. de Heer,et al.  Carbon Nanotubes--the Route Toward Applications , 2002, Science.

[17]  Huisheng Peng,et al.  Novel solar cells in a wire format. , 2013, Chemical Society reviews.

[18]  Guanghui Liu,et al.  An efficient thiolate/disulfide redox couple based dye-sensitized solar cell with a graphene modified mesoscopic carbon counter electrode , 2013 .

[19]  K. Jiang,et al.  Highly catalytic cross-stacked superaligned carbon nanotube sheets for iodine-free dye-sensitized solar cells , 2012 .

[20]  Guozhong Cao,et al.  ZnO Nanostructures for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells , 2009 .

[21]  P. Avouris,et al.  Carbon-based electronics. , 2007, Nature nanotechnology.

[22]  Kai Zhu,et al.  Enhanced charge-collection efficiencies and light scattering in dye-sensitized solar cells using oriented TiO2 nanotubes arrays. , 2007, Nano letters.

[23]  Xin Xu,et al.  In situ growth of Co(0.85)Se and Ni(0.85)Se on conductive substrates as high-performance counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2012, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[24]  Phaedon Avouris,et al.  Carbon-nanotube photonics and optoelectronics , 2008 .

[25]  Chunhui Huang,et al.  Porous, platinum nanoparticle-adsorbed carbon nanotube yarns for efficient fiber solar cells. , 2012, ACS nano.

[26]  Shozo Yanagida,et al.  Iodine/iodide-free dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2009, Accounts of chemical research.

[27]  Michael Grätzel,et al.  An organic redox electrolyte to rival triiodide/iodide in dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2010, Nature chemistry.

[28]  R. Hauge,et al.  High Electrocatalytic Activity of Vertically Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes towards Sulfide Redox Shuttles , 2012, Scientific Reports.

[29]  S. Zakeeruddin,et al.  Influence of the counter electrode on the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells using a disulfide/thiolate redox electrolyte , 2012 .