A small electron donor in cobalt complex electrolyte significantly improves efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells

Hao, Yan; Yang, Wenxing; Zhang, Lei; Jiang, Roger; Mijangos, Edgar; Saygılı, Yasemin; Hammarström, Leif; Hagfeldt, Anders; Boschloo, Gerrit

doi:10.1038/ncomms13934

Cited by 92 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Since every part of the cell contributes to the overall performance of a DSC, optimization of semiconductors [9][10][11][12][13], sensitizers [14][15][16][17][18][19][20], counter electrodes [21][22][23], and electrolytes [16,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] are all critical. The most widely used sensitizers with photoconversion efficiencies (PCE) of up to 11% are ruthenium-oligopyridine complexes [16,[33][34][35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

There Is a Future for N-Heterocyclic Carbene Iron(II) Dyes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Improving Performance through Changes in the Electrolyte

et al. 2019

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

There Is a Future for N-Heterocyclic Carbene Iron(II) Dyes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Improving Performance through Changes in the Electrolyte

et al. 2019

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“…Hao, et al [216] considered a dual mediator system similar to the previous one, with the organic redox mediator tris p-anisylamine (TPAA) in place of TEMPO as M + A / M 0 A and Co(bpy) 3 as M + B / M 0 B . The problems of using TPAA alone and the advantages of introducing the co-mediator are the same as for the TEMPO/Co system.…”

Section: Dual Redox Mediator Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metal Coordination Complexes as Redox Mediators in Regenerative Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

et al. 2019

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Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted a substantial interest in the last 30 years for the conversion of solar power to electricity. An important component is the redox mediator effecting the transport of charge between the photoelectrode and the dark counter electrode (CE). Among the possible mediators, metal coordination complexes play a prominent role and at present are incorporated in several types of devices with a power conversion efficiency exceeding 10%. The present review, after a brief introduction to the operation of DSSCs, discusses at first the requirements for a successful mediator. Subsequently, the properties of various classes of inorganic coordination complexes functioning as mediators relevant to DSSC operation are presented and the operational characteristics of DSSC devices analyzed. Particular emphasis is paid to the two main classes of efficient redox mediators, the coordination complexes of cobalt and copper; however other less efficient but promising classes of mediators, notably complexes of iron, nickel, manganese and vanadium, are also presented.

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“…Ion pairs, particularly those in which one or both of the components are transition metal complexes, have attracted increasing attention recently . The ion‐paired materials are of practical importance in the development of organic light‐emitting diode, dye‐sensitized solar cells, catalysts, chemical sensors, as well as smart electronic devices . Importantly, ionic donor−acceptor interactions may provide an outer sphere mechanism for electron transfer that would enable the construction of stimuli‐responsive materials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constructing Multi‐Stimuli‐Responsive Luminescent Materials through Outer Sphere Electron Transfer in Ion Pairs

Shen

She

et al. 2019

Advanced Optical Materials

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materials, which can be broadly applied as bioprobes, [2] environmental monitors, [3] optical data storage medium, [4] etc. Generally, the stimuli-responsive luminescent materials are designed based on an inner sphere mechanism for electron transfer, and there are very few examples of such materials based on the outer sphere electron transfer mechanism. In fact, the design and preparation of stimuli-responsive materials based on inner sphere electron transfer mechanism is more difficult because tedious synthetic procedures or complex covalent modifications are often involved (Figure 1a). Supramolecular interactions constructed materials can be considered as ideal candidates to overcome this limit. Ion pairs, particularly those in which one or both of the components are transition metal complexes, have attracted increasing attention recently. [5] The ion-paired materials are of practical importance in the development of organic light-emitting diode, [6] dye-sensitized solar cells, [7] catalysts, [8] chemical sensors, [9] as well as smart electronic devices. [10] Importantly, ionic donor− acceptor interactions may provide an outer sphere mechanism for electron transfer that would enable the construction of stimuli-responsive materials.Ionic phosphorescent iridium(III) complexes have received significant attention due to their appealing photophysical properties, such as high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yields, excellent photostability, significant Stokes shifts, and high sensitivity toward surrounding environments. [11] Among the various ionic iridium(III) complexes, bis-terpyridine iridium(III) complexes are one of the most attractive candidates for the formation of stimuli-responsive ion pairs due to the following features: i) rich photochemistry, complicated excited states, and remarkable photophysical properties are ideal for stimuli-responsive character, [12] ii) high cationic character (charge +3) enables strong electrostatic interactions between donor and acceptor, and iii) very high energy content in the excited states makes them powerful photo-oxidants, [13] ensuring efficient PET processes. Based on these facts, it was hypothesized that the emission intensity of a bis-terpyridine iridium(III) complex would be quenched by the addition of a strong electron donor via a PET process. Subsequently, the consumption Stimuli-responsive luminescent materials are of scientific and technological interest due to their wide range of optoelectronic applications. The utilization of photoinduced electron transfer (PET) reactions is an effective strategy to design various stimuli-responsive luminescent materials. To date, most of these materials are based on the inner sphere electron transfer mechanism, which refers to a redox chemical reaction that proceeds via a covalent bridge. In contrast, the method of using outer sphere electron transfer mechanism is superior to the covalent approach as it does not require tedious synthesis. Ion pairs, which are composed of two oppositely charged components, are ideal for t...

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A small electron donor in cobalt complex electrolyte significantly improves efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells

Cited by 92 publications

References 42 publications

There Is a Future for N-Heterocyclic Carbene Iron(II) Dyes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Improving Performance through Changes in the Electrolyte

There Is a Future for N-Heterocyclic Carbene Iron(II) Dyes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Improving Performance through Changes in the Electrolyte

Metal Coordination Complexes as Redox Mediators in Regenerative Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Constructing Multi‐Stimuli‐Responsive Luminescent Materials through Outer Sphere Electron Transfer in Ion Pairs

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