Electro-deposition under a modulated electrical field as an enhanced method for the preparation of an efficient photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells

This paper describes an application of a new electro-deposition method in a modulated electrical field in order to have an efficient semiconductor coating on a conductive substrate. The prepared film was used as a photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Electro-deposition of nanoparticles usually was performed by applying a DC electrical field in a suspension. In the DC field, a homogeneous layer could not be performed because of unwanted electrochemical reactions that might occur on the substrate surface. Modulated electrical fields based on pulsed AC and a sweeping voltage profile were used. The photovoltaic performance of the assembled solar cells showed a significant difference between the films produced in different electrical field conditions. Under the illumination of simulated AM 1.5 sunlight (100 mW cm^?2) with an aperture black mask, the energy conversion efficiency of 2.45% (V _OC = 768 mV, J _SC = 4.74 mA cm^?2, FF = 67%) was obtained with a thin layer of TiO₂ nanoparticles deposited in a pulsed waveform voltage. A crack-free and uniform porous layer produced in this condition showed an enhancement of about seven times over the photoanode prepared using conventional DC electrical field with the same voltage amplitude. The solar cell efficiency was increased to 4.22% (V _OC = 735 mV, J _SC = 7.92 mA cm^?2, FF = 72%) by just increasing the TiO₂ film thickness and using a blocking layer beneath the semiconductor layer. Moreover, a higher electron recombination lifetime presented better electron transport and collection efficiency of the film deposited in the pulsed electrical field conditions.     

Proton-coupled electron transfer in dye-sensitized solar cells: a theoretical perspective

The functionality of the proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) model was tested on a squaraine-sensitized solar cell. The geometrical parameters, excitations, and electronic structures of free and Ti⁺⁴-bound squaraine dye were monitored using a set of pure and hybrid density functional theory (DFT) functionals with diffuse and polarization functions. The infrared spectra showed the dye-metal proton transfer. The UV-Vis spectra of unbound and bound squaraine dye using the pure functional (PBEPBE) are in excellent agreement with the experimental ones. The first photoexcited state charge transfer enhanced the charge density around the anchoring group of neat and bound squaraine dye. The injection of electronic charge into the titanium complex was confirmed by density of states (DOS) and natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses. The comparatively high total hyperpolarizability of the squaraine dye is indicative of a potent nonlinear optical (NLO) devise.     

Extensive enhancement in power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cell by using Mo-doped TiO2 photoanode

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In this work, we have synthesized Mo-doped TiO2 nanoparticles by sol–gel method and used them as photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Mo...     

Enhanced electron collection in photoanode based on ultrafine TiO2 nanotubes by a rapid anodization process

The separated and ultrafine TiO₂ nanotubes are fabricated by a modified rapid anodization method, which cannot be achieved through conventional anodization. Then, model dye-sensitized solar cells based on the prepared TiO₂ nanotubes and commercial TiO₂ nanoparticles (P25) are investigated, and a discrepancy is discovered between the light-harvesting capability and the power conversion efficiency. The charge transport and recombination are studied by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the open-circuit voltage decay technique. Results show that the nanotube photoanode owns a longer electron diffusion length and a larger electron lifetime than the nanoparticle one, which can compensate for the loss of light absorption. The enhanced electron collection efficiency observed is attributed to the facilitated charge carrier pathways in the photoanode composed by the separated TiO₂ nanotubes fabricated in this work. Therefore, the TiO₂ nanotubes synthesized by this method are verified to have good electronic properties, which might find applications not only in photovoltaic, but also in catalysis, sensors, and other areas.     

Preparation of porous polymer electrolyte by a microwave assisted effervescent disintegrable reaction

Porous polymer membranes with sub-micrometer pores were successfully prepared by a novel microwave assisted effervescent disintegrable reaction. The fine connected porous structure was obtained by promoting effervescent disintegrable reaction between citric acid and sodium bicarbonate due to the assistance of microwave. The ionic conductivity of the prepared gelled polymer electrolyte is up to 1.17 × 10^?3 S cm^?1 and electrochemical window 4.5 V. This method provides a convenient route to prepare porous polymer electrolyte, which will greatly promote the practical application of porous polymer electrolytes.     

Photovoltage improvements and recombination suppression by montmorillonite addition to PEO gel electrolyte for dye-sensitized solar cells

Montmorillonite (MMT) added to electrolytes has been reported in the literature to facilitate the transport of I(-)/I(3)(-), and improve the ionic conductivity and consequent photocurrent of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). This paper firstly observes, investigates and reports that MMT addition to a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based gel electrolyte not only improves the ionic conductivity of the gel electrolyte, but also increases the photovoltage and decreases the dark current. From the results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and transient photovoltage spectra, we evidence that MMT in the polymer gel electrolyte can efficiently retard the charge recombination that occurs at the TiO(2)/dye/electrolyte interfaces.     

Gelation of a liquid electrolyte with aniline for use in a quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell

A new kind of gel electrolyte containing only organic solvents and an iodide salt-namely 3-methoxypropionitrile(MPN),aniline and AlI 3 -has been prepared.Gel formation results from the Lewis acid-base interaction between the Lewis acid ionic conductor AlI 3 and the Lewis base organic solvent aniline and no additional gelling agent is required.The AlI 3-aniline complex acts both as an ionic conductor and as a gelling agent.The differences between the peaks characteristic of the-NH 2 group and aromatic ring in the FTIR spectra of free aniline and the AlI 3-aniline hybrid confirm the formation of the AlI 3-aniline complex.The photovoltaic performance and long-term stability of dye-sensitized solar cells can be greatly enhanced by the addition of aniline to the AlI 3-MPN liquid electrolyte.     

一种不含胶凝剂的凝胶电解质在准固态染料敏化太阳能电池中的应用

报道了一种不含胶凝剂的凝胶电解质的制备及在准固态染料敏化太阳能电池中的应用.这种新型凝胶电解质仅含有机溶剂和碘盐,即3-甲氧基丙腈、苯胺、三碘化铝和碘.上述混合物通过路易斯酸性三碘化铝离子导体和路易斯碱性苯胺有机溶剂间的路易斯酸-碱相互作用形成凝胶,无需额外添加传统凝胶电解质的关键组分—胶凝剂.形成的三碘化铝-苯胺复合物在凝胶电解质中能同时发挥离子导体和胶凝剂的作用.红外光谱图中苯胺的氨基和苯环特征峰的变化证实了三碘化铝-苯胺复合物的形成.含这种新型凝胶电解质的准固态染料敏化太阳能电池光电性能和稳定性与含三碘化铝-3-甲氧基丙腈液体电解质的染料敏化太阳能电池相比有很大提高.     

LiTFSI as a plastic salt in the quasi-solid state polymer electrolyte for dye-sensitized solar cells

Ionic conductivity and the type of ions are important for the composite polymer electrolyte (CPE) of the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulphone)imide (LiTFSI for short) which is easy to dissociate, is added in the composite polymer electrolyte(CPE) as a plasticizer. The LiTFSI acts differently from the conventional LiClO₄. LiTFSI changes the conformation of the polymer chain and shows higher ionic conductivity than LiClO₄. That contributes to the improvement of the short current density of the DSSC. Furthermore, the DSSCs with LiTFSI modification show higher photovoltage than the LiClO₄. The anions of TFSI^? prohibit the interface recombination more effectively compared with the LiClO₄ as the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy indicated. With the LiTFSI modified electrolyte, the performances of the DSSCs under 1 Sun, AM1.5 are improved and reaches the highest of 4.82% at the LiTFSI:LiI = 0.116:1, much better than the original DSSC(3.6%) and the LiClO₄ modified CPE electrolyte DSSC(4.32%).     

Direct synthesis of platelet graphitic-nanofibres as a highly porous counter-electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells

We synthesized platelet graphitic-nanofibres (GNFs) directly onto FTO glass and applied this forest of platelet GNFs as a highly porous structural counter-electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). We investigated the electrochemical properties of counter-electrodes made from the highly porous structural GNFs and the photoconversion performance of the cells made with these electrodes.     

Photocurrent enhancement by surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles in highly porous dye-sensitized solar cells

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) by silver nanoparticles that are photochemically incorporated into an electrode-supported TiO(2) nanoparticulate framework enhances the extinction of a subsequently adsorbed dye (the ruthenium-containing molecule, N719). The enhancement arises from both an increase in the dye's effective absorption cross section and a modest increase in the framework surface area. Deployment of the silver-modified assembly as a photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells leads to light-to-electrical energy conversion with an overall efficiency of 8.9%. This represents a 25% improvement over the performance of otherwise identical solar cells lacking corrosion-protected silver nanoparticles. As one would expect based on increased dye loading and electromagnetic field enhanced (LSPR-enhanced) absorption, the improvement is manifested chiefly as an increase in photocurrent density ascribable to improved light harvesting.     

Quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell based on a polymer gel electrolyte with in situ synthesized ionic conductors

A polymer gel electrolyte with in situ synthesized Acac-Py-I₂ ionic conductors was prepared for fabricating a quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell (QS-DSSC). The in situ synthesized Acac-Py-I₂ ionic conductors show weaker influence on the liquid electrolyte absorbency of the polymer gel electrolyte than that of Acac-Py-I₂ ionic conductors dissolved in liquid electrolyte. Owing to the higher liquid electrolyte absorbency, the polymer gel electrolyte with in situ synthesized Acac-Py-I₂ ionic conductors shows higher ionic conductivity than that of polymer gel electrolyte with Acac-Py-I₂ ionic conductors absorbed from liquid electrolyte. QS-DSSC containing the polymer gel electrolyte with in situ synthesized Acac-Py-I₂ ionic conductors shows 3.815% energy conversion efficiency, which is 21.6% higher than that of QS-DSSC containing polymer gel electrolyte with Acac-Py-I₂ ionic conductors absorbed from liquid electrolyte.     

Binding of an electron to a molecular dipole: BeF

Results of extended-basis SCF calculations indicate that BeF may exist as a metastable species. Comparison of results obtained from SCF calculations on neutral BeF₂ with those of BeF shows that the orbital occupied by the electron of BeF is well approximated by the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of neutral BeF₂.     

Extensive enhancement in power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cell by using Al-doped TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> photoanode

In this work, we have prepared Al-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles via a hydrothermal method and used it for making photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Material characterizations were done using XRD, AFM, SEM, TEM and EDAX. XPS results reveal that Al is introduced successfully into the structure of TiO₂ creating new impurity energy levels in the forbidden gap. This resulted in tuning of the conduction band of TiO₂ and reduced charge recombination which led to better current conversion efficiency of DSSC. Greater dye loading and enhanced surface area was obtained for Al-doped TiO₂ compared to un-doped TiO₂. I-V analysis, EIS and Bode plots are employed to evaluate photovoltaic performance. The short-circuit current density (J _sc) and efficiency (η) of cell employing Al-doped TiO₂ photoanode were extensively enhanced compared to the cell using un-doped TiO₂. The optical band gap (E _g) for Al-doped and un-doped TiO₂ was obtained as 2.8 and 3.2 eV, respectively. J _sc and η were 13.39 mAcm^?2 and 4.27%, respectively, under illumination of 100 mWcm^?2 light intensity when thin films of 1% Al-doped TiO₂ was employed as photoanode in DSSC using N719 as the sensitizer dye. With the use of un-doped TiO₂ as photoanode under similar conditions, J _sc 5.12 mAcm^?2 and η 1.06% only could be obtained. The maximum IPCE% obtained with Al-doped TiO₂ and un-doped TiO₂ was 67 and 38% respectively at the characteristic wavelength of dye (λ _max = 540 nm). The EIS analyses revealed resistive and capacitive elements that provided an insight into various interfacial processes in terms of the charge transport. It was observed that Al-doping reduced the interfacial resistance leading to better charge transport which has improved both photocurrent density and conversion efficiency. Higher electron mobility and fast diffusion resulting in greater charge collection efficiency was obtained for Al-doped TiO₂ compared to the un-doped TiO₂. Using the Mott–Schottky plot, the donor density was calculated for un-doped and Al-doped TiO₂. The work demonstrated that the Al-doped TiO₂ is potential photoanode material for low-cost and high-efficiency DSSC.     

Improved efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells by design of a proper double layer photoanode electrodes composed of Cr-doped TiO2 transparent and light scattering layers

A new strategy for enhancing the efficiency of TiO₂ dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by design of a new double layer film doped with Cr ions, with various morphologies, is reported. X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) analyses revealed that the synthesized nanoparticles had uniform and nanometer grains with different phase compositions and average crystallite size in the range of 10–12 nm depending upon Cr atomic percentage. UV–vis absorption showed that Cr introduction enhanced the visible light absorption of TiO₂ nanoparticles by shifting the absorption onset to visible light region. Furthermore, the band gap energy of nanoparticles decreased with an increase in dopant concentration due to reduction of particle size. It was found that, 3 at.% Cr-doped TiO₂ DSSC in the form of a double-layer film composed of TiO₂ nanoparticles, as the under-layer, and mixtures of nano- and micro-particles with weight ratio of 80:20, as the over-layer, (i.e., CT3/NM3 solar cell) had the highest power conversion efficiency of 7.02 %, short current density of 17.32 mA/cm² and open circuit voltage of 674 mV. This can be related to achievement of a balance among the electron injection, light scattering effect and dye sensitization parameters. Optimization of light scattering effect of photoanode electrode led to improve the photovoltaic performance of CT3/NM3 double-layer solar cell and was demonstrated by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The presented strategy would open up new insight into fabrication of low-cost TiO₂ DSSCs with high power conversion efficiency.     

Production of an electrode material modified by a lithium-conducting solid electrolyte

The process for producing the electrode material LiCoPO₄ modified by the lithium-conducting solid electrolyte Li_1.3Al_0.3Ti_1.7(PO₄)₃ (LATP) was studied. To create a composite consisting of an electrochemically active substance and an electrically conductive additive distributed uniformly between LiCoPO₄ particles, a peroxide solution of a LATP precursor was used. After annealing at 700°C, the two-phase composite LiCoPO₄/LATP was obtained, the conductivity of which was two orders of magnitude higher than that of binary lithium cobalt phosphate at room temperature.     

From an electron micrograph to a postage stamp

Soon following Dan Shechtman’s discovery of quasicrystals, Ágnes Csanády and her associates started producing beautiful quasicrystals of flowerlike morphology. The image of one of their specimen appeared on the Israeli postage stamp honoring Shechtman’s discovery, his Nobel Prize, and the International Year of Crystallography.