Title
Functionalized Carboxylate Deposition for Rapid Sensitization of Dye-sensitized Solar Cells
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2016
Abstract
The current state-of-the-art dye loading process for modern dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), essentially unchanged for the last 24 years, entails dip-coating nanoporous TiO2photoelectrodes in a concentrated solution of dye for an average of 16 h. This process constitutes up to 80% of the fabrication time, leads to significant dye waste, and necessitates the use of organic solvents. A promising gas-phase deposition technique, coined Functionalized Carboxylate Deposition (FCD), was used to rapidly deposit a self-assembled monolayer of targeted α-carbon modified carboxylic acid containing dye molecules on TiO2photoelectrodes. The FCD process successfully reduced the dye loading time by 98% (i.e., 15–20 min compared to an average of 16 h). Moreover, the FCD-sensitized photoelectrodes produced DSCs with equivalent or higher efficiencies than dip-coating for the dyes used (both in this study and by other researchers). The performance of FCD dye sensitization in this study indicates its potential applicability as a foundational technology for rapid fabrication of efficient DSCs.
Publication Title
Solar Energy
Volume
126
First Page
128
Last Page
136
DOI of Published Version
10.1016/j.solener.2015.12.044
Recommended Citation
Mallam, Venkataiah; Baral, Sanjib; Gyawali, Santosh; Oda, Robert P.; Elbohy, Hytham; Nepal, Jeevan; Qiao, Qiquan; Baroughi, Madhi Farrokh; and Logue, Brian A., "Functionalized Carboxylate Deposition for Rapid Sensitization of Dye-sensitized Solar Cells" (2016). Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications. 73.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/chem_pubs/73