Flexible dye sensitised nanocrystalline semiconductor solar cells

Haque, Saif A.; Palomares, Emilio; Upadhyaya, Hari M.; Otley, Lucy; Potter, Robert J.; Holmes, Andrew B.; Durrant, James R.

doi:10.1039/b308529e

Cited by 147 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…This is no longer considered a limitation since several recent studies have shown that intimate polymer/metal-oxide infiltration can be achieved by various approaches. These include heat, [14] dipcoating of mesoporous TiO 2 films, [13,15] spin-casting on ultrathin dip-coated TiO 2 films, [6] in-situ growth of TiO 2 from an organic precursor, [11] and heat treatment of a spin-cast polymer into templated nanostructured TiO 2 substrates. [9] It should be noted that infiltration is a function of the polymer used, and that regioregular poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (RR P3HT) has been found to resist infiltration into mesoporous titania through the coiling of the polymer chains.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Polymer Optoelectronic Properties on the Performance of Multilayer Hybrid Polymer/TiO2 Solar Cells

Ravirajan¹,

Haque²,

Durrant³

et al. 2005

Adv. Funct. Mater.

165

124

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We report a study of the effects of polymer optoelectronic properties on the performance of photovoltaic devices consisting of nanocrystalline TiO2 and a conjugated polymer. Three different poly(2‐methoxy‐5‐(2′‐ethylhexoxy)‐1,4‐phenylenevinylene) (MEH‐PPV)‐based polymers and a fluorene–bithiophene copolymer are compared. We use photoluminescence quenching, time‐of‐flight mobility measurements, and optical spectroscopy to characterize the exciton‐transport, charge‐transport, and light‐harvesting properties, respectively, of the polymers, and correlate these material properties with photovoltaic‐device performance. We find that photocurrent is primarily limited by the photogeneration rate and by the quality of the interfaces, rather than by hole transport in the polymer. We have also studied the photovoltaic performance of these TiO2/polymer devices as a function of the fabrication route and device design. Including a dip‐coating step before spin‐coating the polymer leads to excellent polymer penetration into highly structured TiO2 networks, as was confirmed through transient optical measurements of the photoinduced charge‐transfer yield and recombination kinetics. Device performance is further improved for all material combinations studied, by introducing a layer of poly(ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) doped with poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PSS) under the top contact. Optimized devices incorporating the additional dip‐coated and PEDOT:PSS layers produced a short‐circuit current density of about 1 mA cm–2, a fill factor of 0.50, and an open‐circuit voltage of 0.86 V under simulated AM 1.5 illumination (100 mW cm–2, 1 sun). The corresponding power conversion efficiency under 1 sun was ≥ 0.4 %.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Polymer Optoelectronic Properties on the Performance of Multilayer Hybrid Polymer/TiO2 Solar Cells

Ravirajan¹,

Haque²,

Durrant³

et al. 2005

Adv. Funct. Mater.

165

124

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“…In order to improve the transport of charges in low-temperature sintered TiO 2 electrodes, as well as to suppress the charge transfer at semiconductor-electrolyte interface for flexible (photo)-electrochemical devices, many preparation and post-treatment techniques, such as chemical sintering, [97] electrospray, [98] electrodeposition, [99] treatment of pastes or electrodes with titanium-containing gel/solution, [100] mechanical compression of the semiconductor films, [101] and formation of surface coating on the electrodes [102] have been developed. These techniques mainly strive to increase the interparticle necking area to promote the charge transfer between the nanoparticles, [100,101b] while large amount of the electronic states in the bandgap still remains in the semiconductor.…”

Section: Strain Induced Reduction and Redistribution Of Trap States Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Unraveling the Intrinsic Structures that Influence the Transport of Charges in TiO₂ Electrodes

Chen

Tao

Liu

2017

Advanced Energy Materials

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TiO2 is by far the most widely used semiconducting materials for electrodes in (photo)‐electrochemical applications owing to its unique electrical and optical properties combined with the chemical and thermal stability as well as nontoxicity. The electronic processes, especially the transport of charges within the electrodes and interfacial charge transfer, are among the most concerned issues to achieve better solar energy utilization. Towards this end, many approaches, including the development of novel electrode configurations and tuning electronic structures have been devoted to facilitate these electronic processes. Despite the intensive studies, some intrinsic structural features in TiO2 nanostructures, which are usually hidden from the tangible materials characterization techniques, are far from being consciously concerned. In this review, in addition to briefly summarizing the recent progress in TiO2 nanostructures for (photo)‐electrochemical applications, the intrinsic structural features in TiO2 nanostructures, together with the challenges and perspectives involving these features, are emphatically discussed. These intrinsic structural features are shown to have a profound influence on the transport of charges within the TiO2 electrodes and interfacial charge transfer, and thus it is proposed that the charge transport in TiO2 electrodes can be efficiently promoted by cognizing and making good use of the intrinsic structural features.

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“…The prototype of this family of devices is the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC), which accomplishes optical absorption and charge separation by combining a light-absorbing material (the sensitizer) with a wide band gap semiconductor of nanocrystalline morphology (O'Regan & Graetzel 1991;Keshner & Arya, 2004). The DSC is used in conjunction with electrolytes (Graetzel 2001), ionic liquids (Wang 2005a), polymer electrolytes (Haque et al 2003) or organic (Bach et al 1998) as well as inorganic hole conductors (O'Regan 1997; Perera et al 2003). Other strategies employ blends of organic materials, such as polymeric (Halls et al 1995) or molecular semiconductors (Peumans & Forrest 2001) as well as hybrid cells using a p-type semiconducting polymer (such as poly 3-hexylthiophene), in conjunction with a fullerene (Brabec et al 2003) or CdSe 'nanorods' (Huynh et al 2002).…”

Section: Mesoscopic Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical conversion of solar energy

Grätzel

2007

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

215

111

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The Sun provides approximately 100 000 terawatts to the Earth which is about 10 000 times more than the present rate of the world's present energy consumption. Photovoltaic cells are being increasingly used to tap into this huge resource and will play a key role in future sustainable energy systems. So far, solid-state junction devices, usually made of silicon, crystalline or amorphous, and profiting from the experience and material availability resulting from the semiconductor industry, have dominated photovoltaic solar energy converters. These systems have by now attained a mature state serving a rapidly growing market, expected to rise to 300 GW by 2030. However, the cost of photovoltaic electricity production is still too high to be competitive with nuclear or fossil energy. Thin film photovoltaic cells made of CuInSe or CdTe are being increasingly employed along with amorphous silicon. The recently discovered cells based on mesoscopic inorganic or organic semiconductors commonly referred to as 'bulk' junctions due to their three-dimensional structure are very attractive alternatives which offer the prospect of very low cost fabrication. The prototype of this family of devices is the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC), which accomplishes the optical absorption and the charge separation processes by the association of a sensitizer as light-absorbing material with a wide band gap semiconductor of mesoporous or nanocrystalline morphology. Research is booming also in the area of third generation photovoltaic cells where multi-junction devices and a recent breakthrough concerning multiple carrier generation in quantum dot absorbers offer promising perspectives.

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Flexible dye sensitised nanocrystalline semiconductor solar cells

Cited by 147 publications

References 12 publications

The Effect of Polymer Optoelectronic Properties on the Performance of Multilayer Hybrid Polymer/TiO2 Solar Cells

The Effect of Polymer Optoelectronic Properties on the Performance of Multilayer Hybrid Polymer/TiO2 Solar Cells

Unraveling the Intrinsic Structures that Influence the Transport of Charges in TiO₂ Electrodes

Photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical conversion of solar energy

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Flexible dye sensitised nanocrystalline semiconductor solar cells

Cited by 147 publications

References 12 publications

The Effect of Polymer Optoelectronic Properties on the Performance of Multilayer Hybrid Polymer/TiO2 Solar Cells

The Effect of Polymer Optoelectronic Properties on the Performance of Multilayer Hybrid Polymer/TiO2 Solar Cells

Unraveling the Intrinsic Structures that Influence the Transport of Charges in TiO2 Electrodes

Photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical conversion of solar energy

Contact Info

Product

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Unraveling the Intrinsic Structures that Influence the Transport of Charges in TiO₂ Electrodes