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A Step Toward Efficient Panchromatic Multi-Chromophoric Sensitizers for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

Journal Article · · Chemistry of Materials
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [2];  [1]
  1. Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States). School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics
  2. Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States). Laser Dynamics Lab., School of Chemistry and Biochemistry
  3. Univ. of Oxford (United Kingdom)

Panchromatic dyes with absorption profiles extending into the near infra-red are of interest to researchers in the field of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), as they offer potential access to a wide energy range of photons necessary to enhance solar to electric power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). In this report, a porphyrin with a Soret band absorbing at high energy is combined with a squaraine absorbing at low energy $via$ an acetylene linker to form a bichromophoric sensitizer with molar extinctions on the order of 105 M-1 cm-1 and an incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) onset of ~850 nm. Various bulky substituents were installed on both the porphyrin and squaraine moieties, and conjugation was increased with π-bridge spacers to achieve a PCE of 7.6%, which is up to 15% higher than a comparable squaraine-only dye. For the most part, charge injection dynamics indicate slower charge injection rates and lower injection quantum yields for these bichromophoric sensitizers compared to non-porphyrin squaraine-based DSSC sensitizers. Nevertheless, higher PCE was observed for most porphyrincontaining dyes due largely to increased panchromaticity.

Research Organization:
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Interface Science: Solar Electric Materials (CISSEM)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0001084
OSTI ID:
1369927
Journal Information:
Chemistry of Materials, Journal Name: Chemistry of Materials Journal Issue: 18 Vol. 27; ISSN 0897-4756
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (9)

Push-Pull Zinc Porphyrins as Light-Harvesters for Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells journal November 2018
Palladium/Copper Dual Catalysis for the Cross‐Coupling of Aryl(trialkyl)silanes with Aryl Bromides journal January 2018
Electron-Affinity-Triggered Variations on the Optical and Electrical Properties of Dye Molecules Enabling Highly Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells journal October 2018
Palladium/Copper Dual Catalysis for the Cross‐Coupling of Aryl(trialkyl)silanes with Aryl Bromides journal February 2018
Electron-Affinity-Triggered Variations on the Optical and Electrical Properties of Dye Molecules Enabling Highly Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells journal October 2018
Designing Cross-Coupling Reactions using Aryl(trialkyl)silanes journal November 2018
Homo- and Heterodimeric Dyes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Panchromatic Light Absorption and Modulated Open Circuit Potential journal October 2018
Efficient solar cells sensitized by a promising new type of porphyrin: dye-aggregation suppressed by double strapping journal January 2019
Direct comparison of dithienosilole and dithienogermole as π-conjugated linkers in photosensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells journal January 2019

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