Conversion of light to electricity by cis-X[sub 2]Bis(2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylate)ruthenium(II) charge-transfer sensitizers (X = Cl[sup [minus]], Br[sup [minus]], I[sup [minus]], CN[sup [minus]], and SCN[sup [minus]]) on nanocrystalline TiO[sub 2] electrodes

Journal Article · Wed Jul 14 04:00:00 EDT 1993 · Journal of the American Chemical Society; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00067a063· OSTI ID:5859123

Nazeeruddin, M K; Kay, A; Rodicio, I; Humphry-Baker, R; Mueller, E; Liska, P; Vlachopoulos, N; Graetzel, M ^[1]

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1. Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (Switzerland)

cis-X[sub 2]Bis(2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylate)ruthenium(II) complexes (X = Cl[sup [minus]], Br[sup [minus]], I[sup [minus]], CN[sup [minus]], and SCN[sup [minus]]) were prepared and characterized with respect to their absorption, luminescence, and redox behavior. They act as efficient charge-transfer sensitizers for nanocrystalline TiO[sub 2] films (thickness 8-12 [mu]m) of very high internal surface area (roughness factor ca. 1000), prepared by sintering of 15-30-nm colloidal titania particles on a conducting glass support. The performance of cis-di(thiocyanato)bis(2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxy late)ruthenium (II) (1) was found to be outstanding and is unmatched by any other known sensitizer. Nanocrystalline TiO[sub 2] films coated with a monolayer of 1 harvest visible light very efficiently, their absorption threshold being around 800 nm. Conversion of incident photons into electric current is nearly quantitative over a large spectral range. These films were incorporated in a thin-layer regenerative solar cell equipped with a light-reflecting counter electrode. Short-circuit photocurrents exceeding 17 mA/cm[sup 2] were obtained in simulated AM 1.5 sunlight using lithium iodide/triiodide in acetonitrile or acetonitrile/3-methyl-2-oxazolidinone mixtures as redox electrolyte. The open-circuit photovoltage was 0.38 V and increased to 0.72 V by treating the dye-covered film with 4-tert-butylpyridine. A solar-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of 10% was attained with this system. 32 refs., 9 figs., 2 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 5859123
• Journal Information: Journal of the American Chemical Society; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of the American Chemical Society; (United States) Vol. 115:14; ISSN JACSAT; ISSN 0002-7863
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140501* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Photovoltaic Conversion
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400201 -- Chemical & Physicochemical Properties
400500 -- Photochemistry
ACETONITRILE
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMPLEXES
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
EQUIPMENT
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC PHOSPHORS
IODIDES
IODINE COMPOUNDS
LITHIUM COMPOUNDS
LITHIUM HALIDES
LITHIUM IODIDES
LUMINESCENCE
NITRILES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANOMETALLIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHOSPHORS
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
REAGENTS
REDOX REACTIONS
RUTHENIUM COMPLEXES
SENSITIZERS
SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
TITANIUM COMPOUNDS
TITANIUM OXIDES
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPLEXES
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS