Issue 35, 2012

The importance of dye chemistry and TiCl4 surface treatment in the behavior of Al2O3 recombination barrier layers deposited by atomic layer deposition in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used to fabricate Al2O3 recombination barriers in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (ss-DSSCs) employing an organic hole transport material (HTM) for the first time. Al2O3 recombination barriers of varying thickness were incorporated into efficient ss-DSSCs utilizing the Z907 dye adsorbed onto a 2 μm-thick nanoporous TiO2 active layer and the HTM spiro-OMeTAD. The impact of Al2O3 barriers was also studied in devices employing different dyes, with increased active layer thicknesses, and with substrates that did not undergo the TiCl4 surface treatment. In all instances, electron lifetimes (as determined by transient photovoltage measurements) increased and dark current was suppressed after Al2O3 deposition. However, only when the TiCl4 treatment was eliminated did device efficiency increase; in all other instances efficiency decreased due to a drop in short-circuit current. These results are attributed in the former case to the similar effects of Al2O3 ALD and the TiCl4 surface treatment whereas the insulating properties of Al2O3 hinder charge injection and lead to current loss in TiCl4-treated devices. The impact of Al2O3 barrier layers was unaffected by doubling the active layer thickness or using an alternative ruthenium dye, but a metal-free donor-π-acceptor dye exhibited a much smaller decrease in current due to its higher excited state energy. We develop a model employing prior research on Al2O3 growth and dye kinetics that successfully predicts the reduction in device current as a function of ALD cycles and is extendable to different dye–barrier systems.

Graphical abstract: The importance of dye chemistry and TiCl4 surface treatment in the behavior of Al2O3 recombination barrier layers deposited by atomic layer deposition in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Jul 2012
Accepted
16 Jul 2012
First published
31 Jul 2012

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012,14, 12130-12140

The importance of dye chemistry and TiCl4 surface treatment in the behavior of Al2O3 recombination barrier layers deposited by atomic layer deposition in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

T. P. Brennan, J. R. Bakke, I. Ding, B. E. Hardin, W. H. Nguyen, R. Mondal, C. D. Bailie, G. Y. Margulis, E. T. Hoke, A. Sellinger, M. D. McGehee and S. F. Bent, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, 12130 DOI: 10.1039/C2CP42388J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, 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 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