Influence of Dye Adsorption Solvent on the Performance of a Mesoporous TiO2 Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Using Infrared Organic Dye

Abstract

The influence of a dye adsorption solvent of an infrared organic dye (NK-6037) on solar cell performance was investigated in a mesoporous TiO2 dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC). Various types of alcohols and a mixture of ethanol and tertiary-butanol (t-butanol) were applied as dye adsorption solvents. It was confirmed that the species of dye adsorption solvent significantly influences the performance of a DSC. Decreasing the specific dielectric constant of the dye adsorption solvent caused the amount of dye adsorbed on the TiO2 photoelectrode to increase dramatically. It is suggested that the specific dielectric constant of the dye adsorption solvent influences the solvation state of the NK-6037 dye in the solvent, thus determining, for instance, whether the dye is in the monomer state or the aggregate state. Interestingly, solar cell performance was not linearly proportional to the adsorbed amount of dye but a precise optimum amount of adsorbed dye was required for the best performance of the DSC. The optimum amount of adsorbed dye was approximately 5.0×10−8 mol/cm2 and it was obtained by using solvents having a dielectric constant of approximately 18. This condition was realized by 1-butanol, 2-propanol, and a mixture of ethanol and t-butanol with a volume ratio of 7:3. The best efficiency obtained for the DSC was 1.7%, using the optimum amount of the adsorbed infrared dye NK-6037. It is speculated that an excess of dye on the TiO2 photoelectrode accelerates the formation of H-type dye aggregates, resulting in a decrease in short circuit photocurrent (Jsc) by unfavorable side reactions of electron loss. It is demonstrated that dye adsorption solvent selection is the critical factor in obtaining high performance in a DSC