多酸基光敏剂在染料敏化太阳能电池中的应用

染料敏化太阳能电池(dye-sensitized solar cells,简写为DSSCs)是由Michael Gr覿tzel等开发的第三代光伏电池,它具有低成本、制作简单、光学性能可调、光电转换效率高等优势。其中光敏剂是DSSCs的重要组成部分,通过吸收可见光将电子传递到半导体导带,对整个电池的电子循环至关重要。广泛采用的光敏剂为N719等贵金属配合物,但其价格非常昂贵,很难实现大规模产业化。因此寻找低成本的非贵金属光敏剂是该领域的一项挑战。多金属氧酸盐(简称多酸,Polyoxometalates,简写为POMs)是一类具有纳米尺寸的分子基纳米材料,是分子型无机类半导体材料。多酸的富氧表面可以被活化和修饰,吸收光谱可以覆盖可见区甚至近红外区,具有合适的氧化还原电势,良好的热稳定性和溶解性。近年来,一系列研究表明多酸可以作为光敏剂应用在DSSCs中。本文中,我们以课题组多年来在POMs和太阳能电池领域的研究工作积累以及国内外同行专家的研究工作为基础,对多酸基光敏剂在DSSCs中的应用进行了详细综述。首先我们阐述了DSSCs的研究意义、多酸的简介、多酸的能级测量及调控。之后我们重点综述了多酸作为DSSCs中的光敏剂和共敏剂的研究。最后,我们对多酸基光敏剂在DSSCs领域的发展前景进行了总结和展望。本文有望引起多酸化学、材料化学及新兴交叉学科领域研究者的广泛研究兴趣,并为太阳能电池光敏剂的研究提供新的思路。

Application of Polyoxometalates-Based Photosensitizers in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are the third generation photovoltaic cells developed by Michael Grätzel et al. It has the advantages of low preparation cost, simple manufacturing process, adjustable optical performance and high photoelectric conversion efficiency. Photosensitizer is the core component of DSSCs, transmitting electrons to semiconductor conduction band by absorbing visible light, which is very important to the electronic cycle of the whole battery. Noble metal complexes such as N719 are widely used as photosensitizers, but they are very expensive and difficult to realize large-scale industrialization. Therefore, the search for low-cost non-noble metal photosensitizers is a challenge in this field. Polyoxometalates (POMs) are a kind of molecular-based nanomaterials with nano-size and molecular inorganic semiconductor materials. The oxygen-enriched surface of polyoxometalates can be activated and modified. The absorption spectrum can cover the visible and even near infrared regions. It has appropriate redox potential, good thermal stability and solubility. A series of studies have shown that surface polyoxometalates can be used as photosensitizers in DSSCs. In this paper, based on the work accumulated by our research group in the field of POMs and solar cells over the years and the work of domestic and foreign peer experts, the application of polyoxometalates-based photosensitizers in DSSCs is reviewed in detail. Firstly, the research significance of DSSCs, the introduction of polyoxometalates, the measurement and adjustment of energy levels of polyoxometalates are described. After that, we mainly reviewed the use of polyoxometalates as photosensitizers and co-sensitizers in DSSCs. Finally, we summarized and prospected the development prospects of polyoxometalates photosensitizers in the field of DSSCs. This review may be of interest to researchers in the fields of polyoxometalates chemistry, material chemistry and emerging interdisciplinary disciplines. It also provides new ideas for the research of photosensitizers for solar cells.