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Design of a New Energy‐Harvesting Electrochromic Window Based on an Organic Polymeric Dye, a Cobalt Couple, and PProDOT‐Me 2
Author(s) -
Amasawa Eri,
Sasagawa Naoki,
Kimura Mutsumi,
Taya Minoru
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced energy materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.08
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1614-6840
pISSN - 1614-6832
DOI - 10.1002/aenm.201400379
Subject(s) - electrochromism , materials science , transmittance , dye sensitized solar cell , optoelectronics , energy conversion efficiency , organic solar cell , electrode , polymer , composite material , chemistry , electrolyte
A new design for an energy‐harvesting electrochromic window (EH‐ECW) based on the fusion of two technologies, organic electrochromic windows and dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), is presented. Unlike other power‐generating smart windows, such as photoelectrochromic devices that are passive and only contain two states (i.e., a closed‐circuit colored state and an open‐circuit bleaching state), EH‐ECW allows active tuning of the transmittance by varying the applied potential and it functions as a photovoltaic cell based on a DSSC. The resulting device demonstrates a fast switching rate of 1 s in both the bleaching and coloring processes through the use of an electrochromic polymer as a counter electrode layer. To increase the transmittance of the device, a cobalt redox couple and a light‐colored, yet efficient, organic dye are used. The organic dye contains a polymeric structure that contributes to the high cyclic stability. The device exhibits a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.5% (100 mW cm ‐2 ) under AM 1.5 irradiation, a change in transmittance of 34% upon applied potential, and shows only 3% degradation in the PCE after 5000 cycles.