Abstract
In this paper we present a multiscale simulation of charge transport in a solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell, where the real morphology between TiO2 and the hole transport material is included. The geometry of the interface is obtained from an electron tomography measurement and imported in a simulation software. Charge distribution, electric field and current densities are computed using the drift-diffusion model. We use this approach to investigate the electrostatic effect of trap states at the interface between the electron and hole transport materials. The simulations show that when the trapped electrons are not screened by external additives, the dynamics of holes is perturbed. Holes accumulate at the interface, enhancing recombination and reducing cell performance.
Highlights
Electronic technology has boomed in recent years mainly thanks to the enormous amount of research on materials science
Organic semiconductors are becoming a crucial component for photovoltaic devices as well, where they can play either the role of active layer, as in organic photovoltaic cells (OPV),[4] or hole transporter material, as in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells.[5] ss-DSCs have evolved from dye solar cells (DSCs),[6,7] electrochemical photovoltaic devices that use a mesoporous oxide, usually titanium oxide (TiO2), sensitized with a monolayer of molecules, the dye, to convert light into electricity
In the present work we have analyzed the effect of trap states at the interface in the mesoporous material of a ss-DSC
Summary
Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT)) organic semiconductors.[9]. Recently discovered perovskite solar cells have emerged from DSC technology, starting from an effort to replace the dye[10] and the hole transporter.[11]. TiO2 and the hole transport material by creating a dipole moment at the interface.[19] Despite an intense investigation, many aspects of the doping are not completely clear in a working ss-DSC device, considering the complex interplay between many different processes affected by the dopants, which change the cell performance. It has been 1136 | Nanoscale, 2015, 7, 1136–1144. In the latter case we consider only non-doping additives in order not to alter bulk properties, and we assume perfect screening with zero Debye length, such that the additives do not have to be included explicitly in the simulation model
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