Abstract
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated using a photoelectrode covered by a porous layer of titanium dioxide, platinum counter electrode, iodide/triiodide electrolyte and three different dyes: phenylfluorone (PF), pyrocatechol violet (PCV) and alizarin (AL). After the adsorption of the dyes on the mesoporous TiO2 layer, the measurement of absorption spectra of all the tested dyes revealed a significant broadening of the absorption range. The positions of highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest occupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels of dye molecules were determined, indicating that all three dyes are good candidates for light harvesters in DSSCs. The cells were tested under simulated solar light, and their working parameters were determined. The results showed that the implementation of the back reflector layer made of BaSO4 provided an improvement in the cell efficiency of up to 17.9% for phenylfluorone, 60% for pyrocatechol violet and 21.4% for alizarin dye.
Highlights
Cells Featuring Back Reflector.The usage of solar energy for production of electricity implies a constant increase in investment in the investigations of photovoltaic (PV) technology
Despite the strong position of silicon solar cells in the market, much attention is attracted by the emerging photovoltaic technologies such as organic photovoltaics (OPV) and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), as well as perovskite cells (PSCs) that stemmed from DSSCs
The performance of dye-sensitized solar cells is influenced by numerous factors
Summary
Cells Featuring Back Reflector.The usage of solar energy for production of electricity implies a constant increase in investment in the investigations of photovoltaic (PV) technology. A dye cell is essentially composed of an anode covered by titanium dioxide nanoparticles with adsorbed photoactive dye molecules, counter electrode and electrolyte inserted in between [1]. The illumination of the photoanode is followed by the excitation of a dye molecule and the injection of the excited electron into the conduction band of titanium dioxide. In the whole operation cycle, the crucial process is the electron transfer from the dye molecule to the TiO2 conduction band [2,3]. The mechanism of this process depends on the configuration and electronic structure of the adsorbed dyes [4]. In order to enhance the light harvesting, it is desirable that the absorption spectrum of the dye adsorbed on
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