Issue 35, 2012

High efficiency co-sensitized solar cell based on luminescent lanthanide complexes with pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid ligands

Abstract

Two lanthanide complexes, Ln(HPDA)3ยท4EtOH (Ln = Tb, Dy) (H2PDA = pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid, EtOH = ethanol), have been successfully synthesized using hydrothermal or solvothermal methods, and their crystal structures were analyzed by single crystal XRD. Both crystals have orthorhombic symmetry with space group Pbcn, exhibiting three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular architecture through hydrogen bonding interactions. The metal center was coordinated to nine atoms by three pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid ligands. The nine-coordinated lanthanide metal complexes were assembled onto a nanocrystalline TiO2 film to form co-sensitized photoelectrodes with N719 for dye-sensitized solar cells, and their photoelectrochemical performance was studied. In the tandem structure of composite electrodes, the energy levels of lanthanide metal complexes are reorganized in their single-crystal form, as verified by ab initio calculations. The co-sensitized systems are far superior for electron-injection and hole-recovery compared with single N719-sensitized systems. Luminescence properties were measured and electrochemical analysis was also performed on these complexes.

Graphical abstract: High efficiency co-sensitized solar cell based on luminescent lanthanide complexes with pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid ligands

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 Feb 2012
Accepted
17 Jun 2012
First published
19 Jun 2012

Dalton Trans., 2012,41, 10619-10625

High efficiency co-sensitized solar cell based on luminescent lanthanide complexes with pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid ligands

X. Wang, Y. Yang, P. Wang, L. Li, R. Fan, W. Cao, B. Yang, H. Wang and J. Liu, Dalton Trans., 2012, 41, 10619 DOI: 10.1039/C2DT30430A

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