Organic Dyes Containing Coplanar Dihexyl-Substituted Dithienosilole Groups for Efficient Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells

A chromophore containing a coplanar dihexyl-substituted dithienosilole (CL1) synthesised for use in dye-sensitised solar cells displayed an energy conversion efficiency of 6.90% under AM 1.5 sunlight irradiation. The new sensitiser showed a similar fill factor and open-circuit voltage when compared...

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Main Authors: Ciaran Lyons, Neelima Rathi, Pratibha Dev, Owen Byrne, Praveen K. Surolia, Pathik Maji, J. M. D. MacElroy, Aswani Yella, Michael Grätzel, Edmond Magner, Niall J. English, K. Ravindranathan Thampi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2017-01-01
Series:International Journal of Photoenergy
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/7594869
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author Ciaran Lyons
Neelima Rathi
Pratibha Dev
Owen Byrne
Praveen K. Surolia
Pathik Maji
J. M. D. MacElroy
Aswani Yella
Michael Grätzel
Edmond Magner
Niall J. English
K. Ravindranathan Thampi
author_facet Ciaran Lyons
Neelima Rathi
Pratibha Dev
Owen Byrne
Praveen K. Surolia
Pathik Maji
J. M. D. MacElroy
Aswani Yella
Michael Grätzel
Edmond Magner
Niall J. English
K. Ravindranathan Thampi
author_sort Ciaran Lyons
collection DOAJ
description A chromophore containing a coplanar dihexyl-substituted dithienosilole (CL1) synthesised for use in dye-sensitised solar cells displayed an energy conversion efficiency of 6.90% under AM 1.5 sunlight irradiation. The new sensitiser showed a similar fill factor and open-circuit voltage when compared with N719. Impedance measurements showed that, in the dark, the charge-transfer resistance of a cell using CL1 in the intermediate-frequency region was higher compared to N719 (69.8 versus 41.3 Ω). Under illumination at AM 1.5G-simulated conditions, the charge-transfer resistances were comparable, indicative of similar recombination rates by the oxidised form of the redox couple. The dye showed instability in ethanol solution, but excellent stability when attached to TiO2. Classical molecular dynamics indicated that interactions between ethanol and the dye are likely to reduce the stability of CL1 in solution form. Time-dependent density functional theory studies were performed to ascertain the absorption spectrum of the dye and assess the contribution of various transitions to optical excitation, which showed good agreement with experimental results.
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institution OA Journals
issn 1110-662X
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language English
publishDate 2017-01-01
publisher Wiley
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series International Journal of Photoenergy
spelling doaj-art-e58a150e48c74089a00abd5def3cdfe62025-08-20T02:21:19ZengWileyInternational Journal of Photoenergy1110-662X1687-529X2017-01-01201710.1155/2017/75948697594869Organic Dyes Containing Coplanar Dihexyl-Substituted Dithienosilole Groups for Efficient Dye-Sensitised Solar CellsCiaran Lyons0Neelima Rathi1Pratibha Dev2Owen Byrne3Praveen K. Surolia4Pathik Maji5J. M. D. MacElroy6Aswani Yella7Michael Grätzel8Edmond Magner9Niall J. English10K. Ravindranathan Thampi11SFI Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Conversion, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, IrelandSFI Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Conversion, Department of Chemical Sciences and Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, IrelandSFI Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Conversion, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, IrelandSFI Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Conversion, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, IrelandSFI Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Conversion, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, IrelandSFI Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Conversion, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, IrelandSFI Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Conversion, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, IrelandLaboratoire de Photonique et Interfaces (LPI), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, SwitzerlandLaboratoire de Photonique et Interfaces (LPI), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, SwitzerlandSFI Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Conversion, Department of Chemical Sciences and Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, IrelandSFI Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Conversion, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, IrelandSFI Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Conversion, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, IrelandA chromophore containing a coplanar dihexyl-substituted dithienosilole (CL1) synthesised for use in dye-sensitised solar cells displayed an energy conversion efficiency of 6.90% under AM 1.5 sunlight irradiation. The new sensitiser showed a similar fill factor and open-circuit voltage when compared with N719. Impedance measurements showed that, in the dark, the charge-transfer resistance of a cell using CL1 in the intermediate-frequency region was higher compared to N719 (69.8 versus 41.3 Ω). Under illumination at AM 1.5G-simulated conditions, the charge-transfer resistances were comparable, indicative of similar recombination rates by the oxidised form of the redox couple. The dye showed instability in ethanol solution, but excellent stability when attached to TiO2. Classical molecular dynamics indicated that interactions between ethanol and the dye are likely to reduce the stability of CL1 in solution form. Time-dependent density functional theory studies were performed to ascertain the absorption spectrum of the dye and assess the contribution of various transitions to optical excitation, which showed good agreement with experimental results.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/7594869
spellingShingle Ciaran Lyons
Neelima Rathi
Pratibha Dev
Owen Byrne
Praveen K. Surolia
Pathik Maji
J. M. D. MacElroy
Aswani Yella
Michael Grätzel
Edmond Magner
Niall J. English
K. Ravindranathan Thampi
Organic Dyes Containing Coplanar Dihexyl-Substituted Dithienosilole Groups for Efficient Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells
International Journal of Photoenergy
title Organic Dyes Containing Coplanar Dihexyl-Substituted Dithienosilole Groups for Efficient Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells
title_full Organic Dyes Containing Coplanar Dihexyl-Substituted Dithienosilole Groups for Efficient Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells
title_fullStr Organic Dyes Containing Coplanar Dihexyl-Substituted Dithienosilole Groups for Efficient Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells
title_full_unstemmed Organic Dyes Containing Coplanar Dihexyl-Substituted Dithienosilole Groups for Efficient Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells
title_short Organic Dyes Containing Coplanar Dihexyl-Substituted Dithienosilole Groups for Efficient Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells
title_sort organic dyes containing coplanar dihexyl substituted dithienosilole groups for efficient dye sensitised solar cells
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/7594869
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