Novel polyene dyes for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

We have developed an efficient and novel polyene-dye-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO2 solar cells producing a 6.8% solar energy-to-electricity conversion efficiency (eta) under AM 1.5 irradiation (100 mW cm(-2)): short-circuit current density (Jsc), 12.9 mA cm(-2), open-circuit photovoltage (Voc), 0.71 V, fill factor (ff), 0.74.     

A highly efficient organic sensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cells

We have synthesized a highly efficient organic dye for a dye-sensitized solar cell; the overall solar-to-energy conversion efficiency was 9.1% at AM 1.5 illumination (100 mW cm(-2)): short-circuit current density (J(sc)) = 18.1 mA cm(-2), open circuit photovoltage (V(oc)) = 743 mV and fill factor (ff) = 0.675.     

An iodine-free electrolyte based on ionic liquid polymers for all-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

An ionic liquid polymer, poly (1-alkyl-3-(acryloyloxy)hexylimidazolium iodide), was employed as an iodine-free electrolyte in all-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells with an overall conversion efficiency of 5.29% under AM 1.5 simulated solar light (100 mW cm(-2)) illumination.     

A novel D-A-π-A organic sensitizer containing a diketopyrrolopyrrole unit with a branched alkyl chain for highly efficient and stable dye-sensitized solar cells

A novel D-A-π-A type organic dye (YCD01) incorporating a diketopyrrolopyrrole unit with a branched alkyl chain was synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cells. YCD01 showed a high conversion efficiency of 7.43% (AM 1.5, 100 mW cm(-2)) with a J(sc) of 13.40 mA cm(-2), a V(oc) of 0.76 V, a FF of 0.73 and an excellent stability.     

Synthesis and characterization of a thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole-based copolymer for high performance polymer solar cells

A highly processable, new semiconducting polymer, PCDTTz, based on alternating thiazolothiazole and carbazole units was synthesized. The new polymer exhibited a field-effect carrier mobility of up to 3.8 × 10(-3) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and bulk heterojunction solar cells made from PCDTTz produced a power conversion efficiency of 4.88% under AM 1.5 G (100 mW cm(-2)) conditions.     

P3HT as hole transport material and assistant light absorber in CdS quantum dots-sensitized solid-state solar cells

Regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) was employed as a hole transport material and assistant light absorber for the fabrication of a CdS quantum dot-sensitized solid-state solar cell, by which a power-conversion efficiency of 1.42% was achieved under an AM1.5 G (100 mW cm(-2)) condition.     

Dye-sensitized solar cell based on blood mimetic thixotropy sol-gel electrolyte

Blood mimetic thixotropy sol-gel electrolytes were prepared and sandwiched between dye-coated porous TiO(2) and a platinum counter-electrode to form a dye-sensitized solar cell. The highest overall conversion efficiency of 6.45%, and the fill factor of 0.74 under the white light irradiation AM 1.5 (100 mW cm(-2)) were obtained.     

Oligothiophene-containing coumarin dyes for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

We have developed oligothiophene-containing coumarin dyes fully functionalized for dye-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO(2) solar cells (DSSCs). DSSCs based on the dyes gave good performance in terms of incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) in the range of 400-800 nm. A solar energy-to-electricity conversion efficiency (eta) of 7.4% was obtained with a DSSC based on 2-cyano-3-[5'-(1,1,6,6-tetramethyl-10-oxo-2,3,5,6-tetrahydro-1H,4H,10H-11-oxa-3a-aza-benzo[de]anthracen-9-yl)-[2,2']bithiophenyl-5-yl]acrylic acid (NKX-2677) under simulated AM 1.5G irradiation (100 mW cm(-2)) with a mask: short-circuit current density (J(sc)) = 13.5 mA cm(-2); open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) = 0.71 V; fill factor (FF) = 0.77. Transient absorption spectroscopy measurements indicated that electron injection from NKX-2677 to the conduction band of TiO(2) is very rapid (<100 fs), which is much faster than the emission lifetime of the dye (1.0 ns), giving a highly efficient electron injection yield of near unity.     

New type of organic sensitizers with a planar amine unit for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

A new type of organic sensitizers incorporating a planar amine unit have been synthesized and demonstrated to be a highly efficient sensitizers, showing evidence of lateral interactions on the TiO(2) surface. Under standard global air mass 1.5 solar conditions, the JK-98 sensitized cell gave a short circuit photocurrent density (J(sc)) of 16.78 mA cm(-2), an open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) of 0.745 V, and a fill factor (ff) of 0.70, corresponding to an overall conversion efficiency (η) of 8.71%.     

Low-bandgap poly(thiophene-phenylene-thiophene) derivatives with broaden absorption spectra for use in high-performance bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cells

Two low-bandgap (LGB) conjugated polymers ( P1 and P2) based on thiophene-phenylene-thiophene (TPT) with adequate energy levels have been designed and synthesized for application in bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cells (PSCs). The absorption spectral, electrochemical, field effect hole mobility and photovoltaic properties of LGB TPT derivatives are investigated and compared with poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). Photophysical studies reveal bandgaps of 1.76 eV for P1 and 1.70 eV for P2, which could effectively harvest broader solar spectrum. In addition, the thin film absorption coefficients of P1 and P2 are 1.6 x 10 (5) cm (-1) (lambda approximately 520 nm) and 1.4 x 10 (5) cm (-1) (lambda approximately 590 nm), respectively. Electrochemical studies indicate desirable HOMO/LUMO levels that enable a high open circuit voltage while blending them with fullerene derivatives as electron acceptors. Furthermore, both materials show sufficient hole mobility (3.4 x 10 (-3) cm (2)/Vs for P2) allowing efficient charge extraction and a good fill-factor for PSC application. High-performance power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.4% is obtained under simulated solar light AM 1.5 G (100 mW/cm (2)) from PSC device with an active layer containing 25 wt% P2 and 75 wt% [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC 71BM), which is superior to that of the analogous P3HT cell (3.9%) under the same experimental condition.     

High-efficiency cascade CdS/CdSe quantum dot-sensitized solar cells based on hierarchical tetrapod-like ZnO nanoparticles

Quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs) constructed using cascade CdS/CdSe sensitizers and the novel tetrapod-like ZnO nanoparticles have been fabricated. The cascade co-sensitized QDSCs manifested good electron transfer dynamics and overall power conversion efficiency, compared to single CdS- or CdSe-sensitized cells. The preliminary CdS layer is not only energetically favorable to electron transfer but behaves as a passivation layer to diminish the formation of interfacial defects during CdSe synthesis. On the other hand, the anisotropic tetrapod-like ZnO nanoparticles, with a high electron diffusion coefficient, can afford a better carrier transport than traditional ZnO nanoparticles. The resultant solar cell yielded an excellent performance with a solar power conversion efficiency of 4.24% under simulated one sun (AM1.5G, 100 mW cm(-2)) illumination.     

Efficient charge generation and collection in organic solar cells based on low band gap dyad molecules

Low band gap dyad molecules were prepared that have absorption spectra matched well with the solar spectrum, and the construction of efficient charge transport pathways was observed. Under AM 1.5 illumination, the devices have achieved the highest J(SC) (4.79 mA cm(2)) and FF (0.46) in dyad-based organic solar cells to date.     

Novel D-π-A structured Zn(ii)-porphyrin dyes containing a bis(3,3-dimethylfluorenyl)amine moiety for dye-sensitised solar cells

A high solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 7.22% was achieved with a short circuit current (J(sc)) of 15.30 mA cm(-2), an open circuit voltage (V(oc)) of 669 mV and a fill factor (FF) of 0.71 for the 2Flu-ZnP-CN-COOH dye with a multi-functional co-adsorbent, under 100 mW cm(-2) AM 1.5 G simulated light.     

Conductive polymer-carbon-imidazolium composite: a simple means for constructing solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

A clay-like conductive material comprising polyaniline-loaded carbon black particles and an ethyleneoxide-substituted imidazolium iodide was prepared. The material was sandwiched between dye-coated porous TiO2 and counter-electrode to form a solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell, which works with overall conversion efficiencies of 3.48% and 4.07% for AM 1.5, 100 mW cm(-2) and 23 mW cm(-2) irradiation, respectively.     

Efficient light harvesting by using green Zn-porphyrin-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO2 films

A series of novel zinc metalloporphyrins, cyano-3-(2'-(5',10',15',20'-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II))yl)-acrylic acid (Zn-3), 3-(trans-2'-(5',10',15',20'-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II))yl)-acrylic acid (Zn-5), 2-cyano-5-(2'-(5',10',15',20'-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II))yl)-penta-2,4-dienoic acid (Zn-8), 4-(trans-2'-(2' '-(5' ',10' ',15' ',20' '-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II))yl)ethen-1'-yl))-1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid (Zn-11), and 2-cyano-3-[4'-(trans-2' '-(2' '-(5' ',10' ',15' ',20' '-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc(II))yl) ethen-1' '-yl)-phenyl]-acrylic acid (Zn-13) were synthesized and characterized by using various spectroscopic techniques. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations show that key molecular orbitals (MOs) of porphyrins Zn-5 and Zn-3 are stabilized and extended out onto the substituent by pi-conjugation, causing enhancement and red shifts of visible transitions and increasing the possibility of electron transfer from the substituent. The porphyrins were investigated for conversion of sunlight into electricity by constructing dye-sensitized TiO(2) solar cells using an I(-)/I(3)(-) electrolyte. The cells yield close to 85% incident photon-to-current efficiencies (IPCEs), and under standard AM 1.5 sunlight, the Zn-3-sensitized solar cell demonstrates a short circuit photocurrent density of 13.0 +/- 0.5 mA/cm(2), an open-circuit voltage of 610 +/- 50 mV, and a fill factor of 0.70 +/- 0.03. This corresponds to an overall conversion efficiency of 5.6%, making it the most efficient porphyrin-sensitized solar cell reported to date.     

Efficient "green" quantum dot-sensitized solar cells based on Cu2S-CuInS2-ZnSe architecture

A Cu(2)S-CuInS(2)-ZnSe quantum dot (QD)-sensitized solar cell with cascaded energy gap structures has been fabricated. Under simulated illumination (AM 1.5, 100 mW cm(-2)), the best device is obtained with a Cu(2)S-CuInS(2)-ZnSe QD-sensitized solar cell, yielding a power conversion efficiency of 2.52%.     

A 7.72% efficient dye sensitized solar cell based on novel necklace-like polymer gel electrolyte containing latent chemically cross-linked gel electrolyte precursors

Novel necklace-like polymer gel electrolytes containing latent chemically cross-linked gel electrolyte precursors were prepared for quasi-solid dye sensitized solar cells with a highest efficiency of 7.72% and an active area of 0.25 cm2 under AM1.5 condition at 100 mW cm(-2) irradiation.     

Platinum-free tungsten carbides as an efficient counter electrode for dye sensitized solar cells

Mesoporous tungsten carbides displayed an excellent solar conversion efficiency (7.01%) as a counter electrode for dye sensitized solar cells under 100 mW cm(-2), AM 1.5G illumination, which corresponded to ca. 85% of the efficiency of the conventional platinum electrode.     

A random copolymer based on dithienothiophene and diketopyrrolopyrrole units for high performance organic solar cells

A random donor-acceptor semiconducting copolymer based on diketopyrrolopyrrole as the acceptor unit and dithienothiophene as the donor unit has been synthesized and characterized. Preliminary studies of BHJ solar cells based on this polymer with PC(71)BM showed a high PCE of above 5% under 100 mW cm(-2) AM1.5 solar illumination.     

Synthesis and characterization of Cu(In(x)B(1-x))Se2 nanocrystals for low-cost thin film photovoltaics

Chalcopyrite quaternary semiconductor Cu(In(x)B(1-x))Se(2) nanocrystals have been successfully prepared via a relatively simple and convenient solvothermal route. The effect of different solvents on the formation of the product also indicates that diethylenetriamine is the optimal solvent for this reaction. The device parameters for a single junction Cu(In(x)B(1-x))Se(2) solar cell under AM1.5G are as follows: an open circuit voltage of 265 mV, a short-circuit current of 25.90 mA/cm(2), a fill factor of 34%, and a power conversion efficiency of 2.34%. Based on a series of comparative experiments under different reaction conditions, the probable formation mechanism of crystal Cu(In(x)B(1-x))Se(2) nanorods is proposed.