Issue 7, 2019

Efficient solar cells sensitized by a promising new type of porphyrin: dye-aggregation suppressed by double strapping

Abstract

Porphyrin sensitizers play essential roles in the development of efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). To further improve power conversion efficiency (PCE), it is vital to reduce undesirable dye aggregation that causes serious charge recombination and lowered open-circuit voltages (Voc). To this end, we herein report a new class of porphyrin-based dyes XW40 and XW41, with the porphyrin cores strapped with two circle chains. Compared with the reference sensitizer XW10 which contains a porphyrin core wrapped in four dodecoxyl chains, the double strapping in XW40 not only effectively suppresses the dye aggregation but also improves the dye loading amount. As a result, the Voc and photocurrent (Jsc) were improved by 19 mV and 0.8 mA cm−2, respectively, compared with the corresponding values of XW10, and the efficiency was improved from 8.6% obtained for XW10 to 9.3% for XW40. To further extend the spectral response, an electron-withdrawing benzothiadiazole (BTD) unit was introduced as an auxiliary acceptor in XW41. Impressively, the onset wavelength of its IPCE spectrum was dramatically red-shifted to 830 nm. However, the extended π-conjugation framework results in aggravated dye aggregation, and thus a lowered efficiency of 8.2% was obtained for XW41. Through a combined approach of coadsorption and cosensitization, the efficiencies were dramatically enhanced to 10.6% and 10.2% for XW40 and XW41, respectively, as a result of simultaneously enhanced Voc and Jsc. The results of this work provide a novel strategy for developing efficient DSSCs by employing strapped porphyrin dyes.

Graphical abstract: Efficient solar cells sensitized by a promising new type of porphyrin: dye-aggregation suppressed by double strapping

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
07 nov. 2018
Accepted
13 déc. 2018
First published
14 déc. 2018
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 2186-2192

Efficient solar cells sensitized by a promising new type of porphyrin: dye-aggregation suppressed by double strapping

K. Zeng, Y. Lu, W. Tang, S. Zhao, Q. Liu, W. Zhu, H. Tian and Y. Xie, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 2186 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC04969F

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