Issue 4, 2021

Cu(ii/i) redox couples: potential alternatives to traditional electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

The redox shuttle is one of the essential ingredients in dye-sensitized solar cell devices. Though the I/I3 redox couple has dominated in the last couple of decades, however, due to the loss of open-circuit potential, complementary absorption with a sensitizer and the volatile nature restricts the module development. Metal complexes with variable oxidation states are probable alternative candidates as redox shuttles due to the change in their redox potentials with varying ligands in order to suit different sensitizers. Co(III/II) redox couples using polypyridyl ligands have been widely used in DSSC and have crossed the device efficiency of 14%. However, mass transport constraints and health hazards exist due to the commercialization of technology. Inspired from biological electron transfer reactions, Cu(II/I) redox shuttles have gained much attention as redox couples for DSSC applications in recent years. Particularly in low light conditions, it minimizes mass transport, has a device efficiency greater than 32%, and has potential in Internet of Things (IoT) applications. In this review, recent advancements in the use of Cu(II/I) redox shuttles using polypyridyl ligands for DSSC applications are presented.

Graphical abstract: Cu(ii/i) redox couples: potential alternatives to traditional electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
29 Dec 2020
Accepted
20 Jan 2021
First published
22 Jan 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Mater. Adv., 2021,2, 1229-1247

Cu(II/I) redox couples: potential alternatives to traditional electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells

K. S. Srivishnu, S. Prasanthkumar and L. Giribabu, Mater. Adv., 2021, 2, 1229 DOI: 10.1039/D0MA01023E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements