Effect of mixed-phase copper oxide on photovoltaic performance of p-type dye-sensitized solar cells

Organic solvents used for electrolytes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are generally not only toxic and explosive but also prone to leakage due to volatility and low surface tension. The representative dyes of DSSCs are ruthenium-complex molecules, which are expensive and require a complicated synthesis process. In this paper, the eco-friendly DSSCs were presented based on water-based electrolytes and a commercially available organic dye. The effect of aging time after the device fabrication and the electrolyte composition on the photovoltaic performance of the eco-friendly DSSCs were investigated. Plasma treatment of TiO2 was adopted to improve the dye adsorption as well as the wettability of the water-based electrolytes on TiO2. It turned out that the plasma treatment was an effective way of improving the photovoltaic performance of the eco-friendly DSSCs by increasing the efficiency by 3.4 times. For more eco-friendly DSSCs, the organic-synthetic dye was replaced by chlorophyll extracted from spinach. With the plasma treatment, the efficiency of the eco-friendly DSSCs based on water-electrolytes and chlorophyll was comparable to those of the previously reported chlorophyll-based DSSCs with non-aqueous electrolytes.

Download Full-text

Enhanced Photovoltaic Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells-Based Carica Papaya Leaf and Black Cherry Fruit Co-Sensitizers

Chemical Physics Impact ◽

10.1016/j.chphi.2021.100024 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 100024

Author(s):

Amarachukwu N. Ossai ◽

Sabastine C. Ezike ◽

Pascal Timtere ◽

Abubakar D. Ahmed

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Carica Papaya ◽

Photovoltaic Performance ◽

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Black Cherry ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

Sensitized Solar Cells

Download Full-text

In Depth Analysis of Photovoltaic Performance of Chlorophyll Derivative-Based “All Solid-State” Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules25010198 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 198 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michèle Chevrier ◽

Alberto Fattori ◽

Laurent Lasser ◽

Clément Kotras ◽

Clémence Rose ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Solid State ◽

Density Functional ◽

Photovoltaic Performance ◽

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Hole Transport ◽

Tio2 Electrode ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

Depth Analysis ◽

Sensitized Solar Cells

Chlorophyll a derivatives were integrated in “all solid-state” dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with a mesoporous TiO2 electrode and 2′,2′,7,7′-tetrakis[N,N-di(4-methoxyphenyl)amino]-9,9′-spirobifluorene as the hole-transport material. Despite modest power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) between 0.26% and 0.55% achieved for these chlorin dyes, a systematic investigation was carried out in order to elucidate their main limitations. To provide a comprehensive understanding of the parameters (structure, nature of the anchoring group, adsorption …) and their relationship with the PCEs, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, optical and photovoltaic studies and electron paramagnetic resonance analysis exploiting the 4-carboxy-TEMPO spin probe were combined. The recombination kinetics, the frontier molecular orbitals of these DSSCs and the adsorption efficiency onto the TiO2 surface were found to be the key parameters that govern their photovoltaic response.

Download Full-text