Issue 18, 2018

Tuning pentacene based dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

We report on the synthesis, as well as photophysical and electrochemical characterization of a new family of pentacene derivatives, which are applied in n-type dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). As far as the molecular structure of the pentacene is concerned, the synthetic design focuses on cyano acrylic tethered at the 13-position of the pentacene chromophore. The electrolyte composition features increasing amounts of Li+ ions as an additive. In general, the increase of Li+ concentrations extrinsically reduces the quasi Fermi level of the photoanode and as such facilitates the electron injection process. We demonstrate that pentacene derivatives give rise to a unique charge injection process, which is controlled by the positioning of the quasi Fermi level energies as a function of the Li+ concentration. As a result of the enhanced charge injection, device efficiencies as high as 1.5% are achieved, representing a 3-fold increase from previously reported efficiencies in pentacene-based DSSCs. These findings are supported by device analysis in combination with transient absorption and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy assays.

Graphical abstract: Tuning pentacene based dye-sensitized solar cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
21 Feb 2018
Accepted
27 Mar 2018
First published
28 Mar 2018

Nanoscale, 2018,10, 8515-8525

Tuning pentacene based dye-sensitized solar cells

A. Kunzmann, M. Gruber, R. Casillas, R. R. Tykwinski, R. D. Costa and D. M. Guldi, Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 8515 DOI: 10.1039/C8NR01502C

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