skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: 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)
+ Show Author Affiliations

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)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0001084
OSTI ID:
1369927
Journal Information:
Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 27, Issue 18; Related Information: CISSEM partners with the University of Arizona (lead); Georgia Institute of Technology; National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Princeton University; University of Washington; ISSN 0897-4756
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 52 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (41)

A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO2 films journal October 1991
Metal-Free Organic Dyes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: From Structure: Property Relationships to Design Rules journal March 2009
High-Efficiency Organic-Dye- Sensitized Solar Cells Controlled by Nanocrystalline-TiO2 Electrode Thickness journal May 2006
High efficiency and stable dye-sensitized solar cells with an organic chromophore featuring a binary π-conjugated spacer journal January 2009
The Role of π Bridges in High-Efficiency DSCs Based on Unsymmetrical Squaraines journal December 2012
Dye-sensitized solar cells with 13% efficiency achieved through the molecular engineering of porphyrin sensitizers journal February 2014
Dye-sensitized solar cellredox shuttles journal January 2011
A two‐level system as a model for a photovoltaic solar cell journal February 1985
Engineering of Efficient Panchromatic Sensitizers for Nanocrystalline TiO 2 -Based Solar Cells journal February 2001
Co-sensitization of Organic Dyes for Efficient Ionic Liquid Electrolyte-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells journal September 2007
Increased light harvesting in dye-sensitized solar cells with energy relay dyes journal June 2009
Supramolecular light harvesting antennas to enhance absorption cross-section in dye-sensitized solar cells journal January 2012
Amplification of light collection in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells via the antenna effect through supramolecular assembly journal January 2015
Multichromophoric Sensitizers Based on Squaraine for NiO Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells journal December 2013
Dye-sensitized solar cells based on multichromophoric supramolecular light-harvesting materials journal January 2014
Panchromatic Trichromophoric Sensitizer for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using Antenna Effect journal August 2011
Near-Infrared Asymmetrical Squaraine Sensitizers for Highly Efficient Dye Sensitized Solar Cells: The Effect of π-Bridges and Anchoring Groups on Solar Cell Performance journal March 2015
Sterically Hindered Phthalocyanines for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Influence of the Distance between the Aromatic Core and the Anchoring Group journal March 2014
Squaraine Compounds: Tailored Design and Synthesis towards a Variety of Material Science Applications journal February 2010
Squaraine Dyes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Recent Advances and Future Challenges journal April 2013
Molecular engineering of panchromatic unsymmetrical squaraines for dye-sensitized solar cell applications journal January 2010
Linear and Nonlinear Spectroscopy of a Porphyrin−Squaraine−Porphyrin Conjugated System journal October 2009
A High-Efficiency Panchromatic Squaraine Sensitizer for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells journal May 2011
Evidence for the assembly of carboxyphenylethynyl zinc porphyrins on nanocrystalline TiO2 surfaces journal January 2006
Nucleophilic Substitution as a Tool for the Synthesis of Unsymmetrical Porphyrins journal June 2005
Porphyrin Dimers and Arrays journal August 2011
Synthesis and Two-Photon Spectrum of a Bis(Porphyrin)-Substituted Squaraine journal May 2009
Nonvolatile memory organic field effect transistor induced by the steric hindrance effects of organic molecules journal January 2010
Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells journal November 2010
Applications of functionalized transition metal complexes in photonic and optoelectronic devices journal October 1998
Spectroscopy of conduction band electrons in transparent metal oxide semiconductor films: optical determination of the flatband potential of colloidal titanium dioxide films journal July 1992
Spectroscopic determination of flatband potentials for polycrystalline titania electrodes in nonaqueous solvents journal February 1993
Electron Transfer Dynamics in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells journal August 2011
Influence of the TiCl 4 Treatment on Nanocrystalline TiO 2 Films in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. 2. Charge Density, Band Edge Shifts, and Quantification of Recombination Losses at Short Circuit journal August 2007
Characteristics of the Iodide/Triiodide Redox Mediator in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells journal November 2009
How should you measure your excitonic solar cells? journal January 2012
Alumina gels that form porous transparent Al2O3 journal November 1975
Slow charge recombination in dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSC) using Al2O3 coated nanoporous TiO2 films journal June 2002
Relating the Photodynamics of Squaraine-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells to the Molecular Structure of the Sensitizers and to the Presence of Additives journal October 2012
Role of Iodide in Photoelectrochemical Solar Cells. Electron Transfer between Iodide Ions and Ruthenium Polypyridyl Complex Anchored on Nanocrystalline SiO 2 and SnO 2 Films journal June 1998
Characterization of electronic transitions in complex molecules journal January 1950

Cited By (9)

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

Similar Records

Synthesis of a novel building block for the preparation of multi-chromophoric sensitizers for panchromatic dye-sensitized solar cells
Journal Article · Fri Sep 23 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Dyes and Pigments · OSTI ID:1369927
+1 more
Rational Design of Dithienopicenocarbazole-Based Dyes and a Prediction of Their Energy-Conversion Efficiency Characteristics for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Journal Article · Tue Mar 13 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · ACS Applied Energy Materials · OSTI ID:1369927
+3 more
Chemometric modeling of power conversion efficiency of organic dyes in dye sensitized solar cells for the future renewable energy
Journal Article · Tue Jan 28 00:00:00 EST 2020 · Nano Energy · OSTI ID:1369927
+2 more

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
42 ENGINEERING