Proceedings of 6th International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV14)
Publication date: 1st March 2014
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) typically consists of ruthenium bipyridyl complexes adsorbed onto semiconductive substrates [1-2]. The light absorption by the dye is responsible for the excitation of an electron and its subsequent injection into the conduction band of titania, thus allowing to extend the spectral response towards the visible region. This photoinduced electron transfer leads to the production of photocurrent and consequently it is crucial to the device efficiency.
Many factors affect the performance of DSSCs, such as composition and structure of the two electrodes, nature of electrolytes and sensitizers. In particular, the efficiency of dye-titania photoanode is directly related to the processes that occur at the dye/titania interface. To improve the energy conversion process, it is important to achieve an optimal dye loading and dye/titania interaction, which affect both the efficiency of photoinduced electron and the capacity of light harvesting.
In order to achieve superior performance in DSSCs, an attractive strategy is to confine the dyes into a porous structure with a well-defined size, with the aim to attain a high dispersion. The confinement of the dye inside pores could avoid its aggregation and increase the surface of dye/titania interface.
We have recently demonstrated that the use of highly porous mesostructured titania films greatly enhance the dye adsorption, improving the light harvesting and power conversion efficiency of DSSC devices [3-4]. The ordered mesoporous structure is usually attained by using soft template assisted routes and thermal treatments at 350°C are necessary in order to remove the template and to gain a crystalline anatase structure.
At the present, the development of highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells obtained by using low temperature processes is still an important and attractive challenge with the aim to lower thermal balance and cost for their production. Low temperature routes also enable the realization of flexible solar cells onto polyethylene terephthalate (PET) - based substrates thus opening the way to a wide range of applications.
On the basis of these findings, a low temperature method for the preparation of high surface area and mesostructured titana films onto conductive glass and PET has been developed. By using synthesis carried out at temperature of 100-150°C, the formation of crystalline anatase was attained. The main advantages are the preservation of the mesoporous structure with an increased surface area and the possibility to prepare mesostructured titania films onto flexible substrates.
This research was financial supported by “EFOR” Project financed by CNR.
Raman spectra of mesostructured titania (TiMS) showing the formation of anatase at 100 and 150°C.
[1] O’Regan, B.; Graetzel, M. A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO2 films, Nature 1991, 353, 737–740. [2] Gonçalves, L.M.; Bermudez, V.Z.; Ribeiro, H.A.; Mendes, A.M. Dye-sensitized solar cells: A safe bet for the future, Energy Environ. Sci. 2008, 1, 655-667. [3] De Marco, L.; Di Carlo, G.; Giannuzzi, R.; Manca, M.; Riccucci, C.; Ingo, G.M.; Gigli, G. Highly efficient photoanodes for dye solar cells with a hierarchical meso-ordered structure, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2013, 15, 16949-16955. [4] Di Carlo, G.; Caschera, D.; Toro, R.G.; Riccucci, C.; Ingo, G.M.; Padeletti, G.; De Marco, L.; Gigli, G.; Pennesi, G.; Zanotti, G.; Paoletti, A.M.; Angelini, N. Spectroscopic and Morphological Studies of Metal-Organic and Metal-Free Dyes onto Titania Films for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, International Journal of Photoenergy 2013, Article ID 582786, 11 pages.
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