Issue 10, 2024

Investigation on the coordination between methylpyridine additives and the [Cu(dmp)2]2+/+ redox couple and its improvement towards the stability of the dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

In dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), the use of copper(II/I) complex redox couples enables a high open-circuit voltage of greater than 1.0 V. However, the widely used electrolyte additive, 4-tert-butylpyridine (TBP), poisons the copper(II) complex, resulting in poor device stability. In this study, a series of pyridine derivatives 2-methylpyridine (2MP), 3-methylpyridine (3MP), 4-methylpyridine (4MP), and 3,5-dimethylpyridine (35DMP) were studied as alternatives to TBP for solving or mitigating the TBP-induced performance degradation. The coordination between the additives and copper(II) complex was extensively studied using ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometric titration, cyclic voltammetry, and 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The moiety position on the pyridine ring was found to greatly affect the electrochemical properties of the redox couple. The 35DMP penta-coordinated copper(II) was found to least affect the electrochemical activity at the counter electrode and ionic diffusion in the bulk electrolyte. A DSSC with a 35DMP additive outperforms its TBP-based counterparts in not only power conversion efficiency but also long-term stability.

Graphical abstract: Investigation on the coordination between methylpyridine additives and the [Cu(dmp)2]2+/+ redox couple and its improvement towards the stability of the dye-sensitized solar cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 7月 2023
Accepted
03 4月 2024
First published
12 4月 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2024,8, 2256-2264

Investigation on the coordination between methylpyridine additives and the [Cu(dmp)2]2+/+ redox couple and its improvement towards the stability of the dye-sensitized solar cells

V. S. Nguyen, K. Kannankutty, Y. Chen, D. Wang, C. Yeh and T. Wei, Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2024, 8, 2256 DOI: 10.1039/D3SE00983A

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