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Dynamic aspects of the dye-sensitized photoconductivity of semiconductors. Technical progress report, April 1, 1981-March 31, 1983

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6578145
Research efforts have followed two parallel lines. First, fluorescence lifetime measurements on dye monolayers adsorbed on semiconductor and insulator surfaces, aimed at exploring processes which compete with injection. Second, construction of a fast transient absorption/gain spectrometer, to be used in measurements of the time evolution of surface oxidized dyes to probe the competition between recombination and escape. The fluorescence from rhodamine B and eosin molecules adsorbed on semiconductor (tin oxide and indium oxide) surfaces was monitored. The fluorescence decay curves yielded lifetimes in the range 50 to 60 ps, with an estimated 10 ps error limit in either direction. This corresponds to a lifetime nearly two order of magnitude shorter than in solution. Similar experiments were done with the same two dyes adsorbed on plain glass and on synthetic quartz. The fluorescence lifetimes were even shorter on these materials. The short fluorescence lifetimes of the dyes on both types of materials are most likely the result of effective energy transfer followed by quenching of the excitation at nonfluorescent impurities or defects such as dye aggregates. The conclusion that injection occurs with considerably less than unity efficiency has direct implication for current models of the low overall efficiencies of cells based on these dye/semiconductor systems.
Research Organization:
Temple Univ., Philadelphia, PA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-81ER10881
OSTI ID:
6578145
Report Number(s):
DOE/ER/10881-T1; ON: DE83003909
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English