Dye-sensitized solar cells - comparative study of co-sensitizer
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38152/bjtv8n4-001Keywords:
-sensitized solar cell, co-adosrbent, tetrazoleAbstract
Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC, DSC, DYSC, or Grätzel cell) are a semiconductor photovoltaic device that directly converts solar radiation into electric current. In contrast to conventional systems in which the semiconductor takes on both the task of absorbing light and transporting charge carriers, the two functions are separated in the DSSCs. The light is absorbed by a sensitizer, which is anchored to the surface of a broadband semiconductor. A typical DSSC consists of a mesoporous photoanode with a dye-sensitized titanium dioxide (TiO2) film, an electrolyte containing iodide/triiodide (I-1/I3-1) redox couple, and a counter electrode with platinum (Pt) catalyst. Upon the absorption of light energy, a photo-excited electron is injected from the excited state of the dye into the conduction band of the TiO2. However, the immobilization of the adsorbing dye molecules onto the surface of semiconducting metal oxide nanoparticles is crucial for initiating an electrical current, via the injection of electrons, which collectively act as the working electrode of a DSSC. Herein we report the synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of the compound 5-(4-octyloxyphenyl)tetrazole (LTz-5) as dye co-adsorbente to DSSCs. This dye was incorporated in DSSCs as a co-sensitizer with different other dyes (HD-2, HD-14, and MH-13), to evaluate the effect of interaction between dye and co-adsorbent on the energy conversion efficiency (%η). The energy conversion efficiency of the DSSC was 8.78 % from HD-2 – LTz-5 (4.9 % increase compared to CDCA), 9.20 % from HD-14 – LTz-5 (0.66 % increase compared to CDCA), and 5.01 % from MH-13 – LTz-5 (1.0 % reduction compared to CDCA). The latter results suggest that steric effects restrict the anchoring ability of the tetrazole groups, by hindering their approach to TiO2 surface and by restricting the coplanarity of the system.
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