scholarly journals Preparation of Photoactive Transition-Metal Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) to Replace Dye-Sensitized Materials in Solar Cells

Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 4384
Author(s):  
Sajid Naseem ◽  
Bianca R. Gevers ◽  
Frederick J. W. J. Labuschagné ◽  
Andreas Leuteritz

This work highlights the use of Fe-modified MgAl-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) to replace dye and semiconductor complexes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), forming a layered double hydroxide solar cell (LDHSC). For this purpose, a MgAl-LDH and a Fe-modified MgAl LDH were prepared. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were used to analyze the structural properties, morphology, and success of the Fe-modification of the synthesized LDHs. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy was used to analyze the photoactive behavior of these LDHs and compare it to that of TiO2 and dye-sensitized TiO2. Current-voltage (I–V) solar simulation was used to determine the fill factor (FF), open circuit voltage (VOC), short circuit current (ISC), and efficiency of the LDHSCs. It was shown that the MgFeAl-LDH can act as a simultaneous photoabsorber and charge separator, effectively replacing the dye and semiconductor complex in DSSCs and yielding an efficiency of 1.56%.

BIBECHANA ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 23-28
Author(s):  
Leela Pradhan Joshi

Aluminium doped Zinc Oxide (AZO) seed layers were deposited on Fluorine doped Tin Oxide (FTO) substrates using a spin coating technique. These were then immersed in growth solutions of zinc nitrate, hexamethylenetetramine and distilled water to develop nanoplates of Zinc Oxide (ZnO). The nanostructures of ZnO grown on FTO were studied using x-ray diffraction techniques. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) were fabricated using two prepared electrodes, one of dye-loaded zinc oxide and another that was platinum coated. The electrolyte used was potassium iodide iodine solution. The performance of the assembled DSCCs was tested by drawing an IV curve. The results showed that the short circuit current and open circuit voltages were about 10 microamperes and 270 millivolts respectively.BIBECHANA 13 (2016) 23-28


Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 4181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariia Karpacheva ◽  
Vanessa Wyss ◽  
Catherine E. Housecroft ◽  
Edwin C. Constable

By systematic tuning of the components of the electrolyte, the performances of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) with an N-heterocyclic carbene iron(II) dye have been significantly improved. The beneficial effects of an increased Li+ ion concentration in the electrolyte lead to photoconversion efficiencies (PCEs) up to 0.66% for fully masked cells (representing 11.8% relative to 100% set for N719) and an external quantum efficiency maximum (EQEmax) up to approximately 25% due to an increased short-circuit current density (JSC). A study of the effects of varying the length of the alkyl chain in 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide ionic liquids (ILs) shows that a longer chain results in an increase in JSC with an overall efficiency up to 0.61% (10.9% relative to N719 set at 100%) on going from n-methyl to n-butyl chain, although an n-hexyl chain leads to no further gain in PCE. The results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) support the trends in JSC and open-circuit voltage (VOC) parameters. A change in the counterion from I− to [BF4]− for 1-propyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide ionic liquid leads to DSCs with a remarkably high JSC value for an N-heterocyclic carbene iron(II) dye of 4.90 mA cm−2, but a low VOC of 244 mV. Our investigations have shown that an increased concentration of Li+ in combination with an optimized alkyl chain length in the 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide IL in the electrolyte leads to iron(II)-sensitized DSC performances comparable with those of containing some copper(I)-based dyes.


2013 ◽  
Vol 658 ◽  
pp. 25-29
Author(s):  
Rathanawan Magaraphan ◽  
Jaruwan Joothamongkhon

Four natural dyes from sappan wood, noni leaves, safflower and black rice show 4 different colors, red, green, yellow and dark purple. They were extracted by water/ethanol and used as a sensitizer for the ZnO based dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). UV-Visible absorption revealed high extinction coefficients of the safflower, noni leaves and sappan wood while the black rice was opposite. And they were adsorbed on ZnO nanoparticles as suggested by the change in absorption spectrum of ZnO. SEM results showed the ZnO nanoparticle-porous film of 9 micron thick. I-V measurement showed both low short circuit current and open circuit voltage leading to poor fill factor. As a result, the efficiencies of the fabricated solar cells were 0.00165, 0.05865, 0.00007 and 0.00015% for sappan wood, noni leaves, safflower and black rice DSSCs, respectively.


2015 ◽  
Vol 787 ◽  
pp. 3-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Karuppuchamy ◽  
C. Brundha

We demonstrated the construction and performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) based on nanoparticles of TiO2coated with thin shells of MgO by simple solution growth technique. The XRD patterns confirm the presence of both TiO2and MgO in the core-shell structure. The effect of varied shell thickness on the photovoltaic performance of the core-shell structured electrode is also investigated. We found that MgO shells of all thicknesses perform as barriers that improve open-circuit voltage (Voc) of the DSCs only at the expense of a larger decrease in short-circuit current density (Jsc). The energy conversion efficiency was greatly dependent on the thickness of MgO on TiO2film, and the highest efficiency of 4.1% was achieved at the optimum MgO shell layer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliefia Noor ◽  
Meri Hamdini ◽  
Salsabila Ramadina ◽  
Yuant Tiandho

<p>Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) is photovoltaic with a dye that functions as an acceptor of sunlight. The great potential of using DSSC lies in the ease of the synthesis process, and the dyes used can come from plants. However, like most other solar cells, increasing the operating temperature can degrade the DSSC performance and thus decrease the efficiency. This article presents a model of the relationship between the effect of temperature on DSSC performance. The model proposed is derived from the DSSC equivalence with a diode circuit. By confirming the experimental research results, it is known that the model presented in this study has excellent accuracy on various DSSC performance parameters (R2&gt; 0.99). The performance studied includes the I-V curve's shape, the value of the short-circuit current, the diode leakage current, and the open-circuit voltage. Based on daily temperature data in Pangkalpinang City, the potential performance of the DSSC could also be determined when it was developed in Kep. Bangka Belitung. The short-circuit current value obtained is in the range of 14 A with a voltage of 0.6 V. It is hoped that this proposed model can be information for the development of DSSC because of its enormous potential application in Indonesia.</p>


2011 ◽  
Vol 306-307 ◽  
pp. 112-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
You Zeng ◽  
Li Jia Zhao ◽  
Ying Zhen ◽  
Fang Xiao Shi ◽  
Yu Tong

Flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) were prepared by using carbon nanotube transparent conductive films (CNT-TCFs) as flexible substrates, and their photovoltaic properties were investigated as well. The flexible DSCs show typical photovoltaic characteristics with short-circuit current of 0.78 μA and open-circuit voltage of 1.48 mV, which was strongly influenced by heat-treatment temperature, type of dyes, and electrical resistivity. In light of their lighter weight and higher flexibility than conventional DSCs based on conductive glass substrates, the flexible DSCs have great potential as functional photoelectric components in many fields.


Photonics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Chi-Feng Lin ◽  
Ting-Hsuan Hsieh ◽  
Yu-Chen Chou ◽  
Pin-Hung Chen ◽  
Ci-Wun Chen ◽  
...  

We developed cobalt and carbon complex materials as counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) to replace conventional platinum (Pt) CEs. Co12 and Co15, both of which are basic cobalt derivatives, showed good redox potential with a suitable open-circuit voltage (VOC); however, their poor electrical conductivity engendered a low short-circuit current (JSC) and fill factor (FF). Mixing them with carbon black (CB) improved the electrical conductivity of the CE; in particular, JSC and FF were considerably improved. Further improvement was achieved by combining cobalt derivatives and CB through thermal sintering to produce a novel CoCB material as a CE. CoCB had good electrical conductivity and electrocatalytic capability, and this further enhanced both JSC and VOC. The optimized device exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.44%, which was higher than the value of 7.16% for a device with a conventional Pt CE. The conductivity of CoCB could be further increased by mixing it with PEDOT:PSS, a conducting polymer. The device’s JSC increased to 18.65 mA/cm2, which was considerably higher than the value of 14.24 mA/cm2 for the device with Pt CEs. The results demonstrate the potential of the cobalt and carbon complex as a CE for DSSCs.


Crystals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Umar ◽  
Mohammad Akhtar ◽  
Tubia Almas ◽  
Ahmed Ibrahim ◽  
Mohammed Al-Assiri ◽  
...  

The proposed work reports that ZnO nanoflowers were grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates via a solution process at low temperature. The high purity and well-crystalline behavior of ZnO nanoflowers were established by X-ray diffraction. The morphological characteristics of ZnO nanoflowers were clearly revealed that the grown flower structures were in high density with 3D floral structure comprising of small rods assembled as petals. Using UV absorption and Raman spectroscopy, the optical and structural properties of the ZnO nanoflowers were studied. The photoelectrochemical properties of the ZnO nanoflowers were studied by utilizing as a photoanode for the manufacture of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The fabricated DSSC with ZnO nanoflowers photoanode attained reasonable overall conversion efficiency of ~1.40% and a short-circuit current density (JSC) of ~4.22 mA cm−2 with an open circuit voltage (VOC) of 0.615 V and a fill factor (FF) of ~0.54. ZnO nanostructures have given rise to possible utilization as an inexpensive and efficient photoanode materials for DSSCs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1735
Author(s):  
Elias Lüthi ◽  
Paola Andrea Forero Cortés ◽  
Alessandro Prescimone ◽  
Edwin C. Constable ◽  
Catherine E. Housecroft

Five 6,6′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine ligands bearing N-arylmethaniminyl substituents in the 4- and 4′-positions were prepared by Schiff base condensation in which the aryl group is Ph (1), 4-tolyl (2), 4-tBuC6H4 (3), 4-MeOC6H4 (4), and 4-Me2NC6H4 (5). The homoleptic copper(I) complexes [CuL2][PF6] (L = 1–5) were synthesized and characterized, and the single crystal structure of [Cu(1)2][PF6]·Et2O was determined. By using the “surfaces-as-ligands, surfaces-as-complexes” (SALSAC) approach, the heteroleptic complexes [Cu(6)(Lancillary)]+ in which 6 is the anchoring ligand ((6,6′-dimethyl-[2,2′-bipyridine]-4,4′-diyl)bis(4,1-phenylene))bis(phosphonic acid)) and Lancillary = 1–5 were assembled on FTO-TiO2 electrodes and incorporated as dyes into n-type dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Data from triplicate, fully-masked DSCs for each dye revealed that the best-performing sensitizer is [Cu(6)(1)]+, which exhibits photoconversion efficiencies (η) of up to 1.51% compared to 5.74% for the standard reference dye N719. The introduction of the electron-donating MeO and Me2N groups (Lancillary = 4 and 5) is detrimental, leading to a decrease in the short-circuit current densities and external quantum efficiencies of the solar cells. In addition, a significant loss in open-circuit voltage is observed for DSCs sensitized with [Cu(6)(5)]+, which contributes to low values of η for this dye. Comparisons between performances of DSCs containing [Cu(6)(1)]+ and [Cu(6)(4)]+ with those sensitized by analogous dyes lacking the imine bond indicate that the latter prevents efficient electron transfer across the dye.


RSC Advances ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (80) ◽  
pp. 42252-42259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shengbo Zhu ◽  
Zhongwei An ◽  
Xinbing Chen ◽  
Pei Chen ◽  
Qianfeng Liu

The modification of the π-linker of cyclic thiourea functionalized dyes has a significant effect on the short-circuit current density and open-circuit voltage of dye-sensitized solar cells.


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