Abstract
We present a thorough soft x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study of a mesoporous titanium dioxide electrode sensitized with the dye 4-(diphenylamino)phenylcyanoacrylic acid, referred to as "L0." Supported by calculations, the suite of XPS, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and resonant photoelectron spectroscopy allows us to examine bonding interactions between the dye and the surface and the frontier electronic structure at the molecule-oxide interface. While placing these measurements in the context of existing literature, this paper is intended as a useful reference for further studies of more complex triphenylamine based sensitizers.
Highlights
Solar energy conversion remains highly topical, and despite the prevalence of silicon solar cells, the use of organic systems for light harvesting remains of interest for a range of sustainable generation devices.1–5 One of the most studied molecular approaches is the dye sensitized solar cells (DSCCs),6 the operating principle of which relies on ultra-fast electron injection from a photoexcited dye molecule into a semiconductor surface.4 approaching 20 years after the advent of the ubiquitous “Grätzel cell” with 7% efficiency,7 many of the limitations of DSSCs have yet to be overcome, including their stability and efficiency compared to competitive technologies.3 Despite this, some advantages of DSSCs remain appealing, for example, they are semi-transparent and their absorption spectrum, i.e., color, can be tuned through the use of different dyes
We present a thorough soft x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study of a mesoporous titanium dioxide electrode sensitized with the dye 4-(diphenylamino)phenylcyanoacrylic acid, referred to as “L0.”
Approaching 20 years after the advent of the ubiquitous “Grätzel cell” with 7% efficiency,7 many of the limitations of DSSCs have yet to be overcome, including their stability and efficiency compared to competitive technologies
Summary
Solar energy conversion remains highly topical, and despite the prevalence of silicon solar cells, the use of organic systems for light harvesting remains of interest for a range of sustainable generation devices. One of the most studied molecular approaches is the dye sensitized solar cells (DSCCs), the operating principle of which relies on ultra-fast electron injection from a photoexcited dye molecule into a semiconductor surface. approaching 20 years after the advent of the ubiquitous “Grätzel cell” with 7% efficiency, many of the limitations of DSSCs have yet to be overcome, including their stability and efficiency compared to competitive technologies. Despite this, some advantages of DSSCs remain appealing, for example, they are semi-transparent and their absorption spectrum, i.e., color, can be tuned through the use of different dyes. Approaching 20 years after the advent of the ubiquitous “Grätzel cell” with 7% efficiency, many of the limitations of DSSCs have yet to be overcome, including their stability and efficiency compared to competitive technologies.. Some advantages of DSSCs remain appealing, for example, they are semi-transparent and their absorption spectrum, i.e., color, can be tuned through the use of different dyes. Blue dyes have been largely absent from the available color pallet of viable DSSCs due to the absence of a low cost and high efficiency dye. Several blue dyes have been announced in recent years, perhaps the most exciting to date is “R6,” which produced a blue DSSC with 12.6% efficiency.
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