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Laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry of dye‐sensitized solar cells: identification of the dye‐electrolyte interaction
Author(s) -
Ellis Hanna,
Leandri Valentina,
Hagfeldt Anders,
Boschloo Gerrit,
Bergquist Jonas,
Shevchenko Denys
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9888
pISSN - 1076-5174
DOI - 10.1002/jms.3582
Subject(s) - chemistry , dye sensitized solar cell , electrolyte , mass spectrometry , dye laser , desorption , photochemistry , alkoxy group , inorganic chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , laser , adsorption , organic chemistry , chromatography , electrode , physics , alkyl , optics
Dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSCs) have great potential to provide sustainable electricity from sunlight. The photoanode in DSCs consists of a dye‐sensitized metal oxide film deposited on a conductive substrate. This configuration makes the photoanode a perfect sample for laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI‐MS). We applied LDI‐MS for the study of molecular interactions between a dye and electrolyte on the surface of a TiO 2 photoanode. We found that a dye containing polyoxyethylene groups forms complexes with alkali metal cations from the electrolyte, while a dye substituted with alkoxy groups does not. Guanidinium ion forms adducts with neither of the two dyes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.