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Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells Based on a Donor–Acceptor System with a Pyridine Cation as an Electron‐Withdrawing Anchoring Group
Author(s) -
Cheng Ming,
Yang Xichuan,
Li Jiajia,
Chen Cheng,
Zhao Jianghua,
Wang Yu,
Sun Licheng
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201200826
Subject(s) - cyanoacetic acid , dye sensitized solar cell , energy conversion efficiency , pyridinium , acceptor , photochemistry , electron acceptor , chemistry , pyridine , electron donor , materials science , nuclear chemistry , electrolyte , organic chemistry , catalysis , optoelectronics , electrode , physics , condensed matter physics
New hemicyanine dyes ( CM101 , CM102 , CM103 , and CM104 ) in which tetrahydroquinoline derivatives are used as electron donors and N ‐(carboxymethyl)‐pyridinium is used as an electron acceptor and anchoring group were designed and synthesized for dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Compared with corresponding dyes that have cyanoacetic acid as the acceptor, N ‐(carboxymethyl)‐pyridinium has a stronger electron‐withdrawing ability, which causes the absorption maximum of dyes to be redshifted. The photovoltaic performance of the DSSCs based on dyes CM101 – CM104 markedly depends on the molecular structures of the dyes in terms of the n ‐hexyl chains and methoxyl. The device sensitized by dye CM104 achieved the best conversion efficiency of 7.0 % ( J sc =13.4 mA cm −2 , V oc =704 mV, FF =74.8 %) under AM 1.5 irradiation (100 mW cm −2 ). In contrast, the device sensitized by reference dye CMR104 with the same donor but the cyanoacetic acid as the acceptor gave an efficiency of 3.4 % ( J sc =6.2 mA cm −2 , V oc =730 mV, FF =74.8 %). Under the same conditions, the cell fabricated with N719 sensitized porous TiO 2 exhibited an efficiency of 7.9 % ( J sc =15.4 mA cm −2 , V oc =723 mV, FF =72.3 %). The dyes CM101 – CM104 show a broader spectral response compared with the reference dyes CMR101 – CMR104 and have high IPCE exceeding 90 % from 450 to 580 nm. Considering the reflection of sunlight, the photoelectric conversion efficiency could be almost 100 % during this region.