☆ 4.7 Article

Molecular engineering of the fused azacycle donors in the D-A-II-A metal-free organic dyes for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

DYES AND PIGMENTS (2022)

Journal

DYES AND PIGMENTS

Volume 197, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

DOI: 10.1016/j.dyepig.2021.109922

Keywords

Dye-sensitized solar cells; Azacycle; Donor; Organic dye; Iminodibenzyl; Iminostilbene

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China [21772045, 22071066]
National Key Research and DevelopmentProgram of China [2016YFA0602900]
Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China [2018B030311008, 2018A0303130007]
Guangzhou Science and Technology Project, China [202102020802]

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Abstract

Four novel D-A-II-A metal-free organic sensitizers were designed and synthesized to investigate the relationship between the sizes and conjugations of azacycle donors and performances of dye-sensitized solar cells. The results indicate that the ISB unit is a promising donor for efficient organic dyes due to its better planar structure and more conjugation, leading to higher photovoltaic performance.

Four novel D-A-II-A metal-free organic sensitizers QL1-4 with the fused azacycle units as donors have been designed and synthesized to investigate the relationship between both the sizes and conjugations of azacycle and performances of dye-sensitized solar cells systematically. QL1 with the five-membered azacycle, i.e., with carbazole (Cz) as donor, exhibits the smallest molar extinction coefficients (epsilon). QL2 and QL3 with the sevenmembered azacycle, i.e. with N-phenyl-iminostilbene (ISB) and N-phenyl-iminodibenzyl (IDB) as donors, respectively, show the red-shifted absorption spectra and higher epsilon compared to QL1. However, QL2 and QL3 with an only distinction in a single or double bond, display distinctive PCEs. QL4 with the six-membered azacycle, i.e., 9,9,10-triphenyl-9,10-dihydroacridine (TDD), exhibits a blue-shifted absorption spectrum due to a big dihedral angle, resulting in a lower photovoltaic performance. Especially, QL3 with the ISB donor is conducive to achieving a PCE of 6.22%, which is higher than QL2, due to its better planar structure and more conjugation. When co-adsorbed with CDCA, QL3 exhibits the highest PCE of 7.14% among all dyes, and up to 8.26% by cosensitizing with dye WL5, which surpasses that of the reference dye N719 (7.75%). The results indicate that the size and conjugation of the fused azacycle donors may affect the photovoltaic performance significantly, and the ISB unit is demonstrated as a promising donor for efficient organic dyes.

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Dye-sensitized solar cells strike back

Ana Belen Munoz-Garcia, Iacopo Benesperi, Gerrit Boschloo, Javier J. Concepcion, Jared H. Delcamp, Elizabeth A. Gibson, Gerald J. Meyer, Michele Pavone, Henrik Pettersson, Anders Hagfeldt, Marina Freitag

Summary: Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) and dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells (DSPECs) have seen a revival in recent years as they offer unique properties such as low cost, non-toxic materials, colorfulness, transparency, and efficiency in low light conditions. This review covers advancements in DSC technology over the past decade, including theoretical studies, characterization techniques, materials, applications, and commercialization efforts by various companies.

CHEMICAL SOCIETY REVIEWS (2021)