SBIR Phase I: Dye Co-Sensitizer Combinations for Increasing the Efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Titania Nanoparticles in Solar Cells

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目建议对影响染料敏化二氧化钛太阳能电池(DSSC)效率的潜在机制有一个重要的理解。这一理解对技术的进步至关重要，并可能通过克服成本和重量障碍来推动太阳能产业向前发展。一般而言，由于电子在到达电极之前从二氧化钛向二氧化钛表面的氧化染料物种反向转移，从而产生电流，因此dssc技术的效率很低。在这项建议中，将研究一种简单的方法，通过在低浓度下将芳香胺与增感染料一起锚定在二氧化钛纳米颗粒的表面，从而缓解这种能量浪费途径。观察到，当这些物种与染料结合在表面时，由于电流的增加，电池效率显著增加。由于这些结果与芳香胺用作二氧化钛共吸附物种或敏化染料分子本身的加合物的其他工作相矛盾，因此需要研究结构修饰的共敏剂对氧化还原电位、光电子转换效率和电子转移动力学的影响，以了解其光物理机制。该项目将在太阳能电池中进行商业应用。由于所使用的材料便宜，并且能够使用卷对卷工艺进行批量生产，因此，在低成本光伏领域，DSSC技术拥有最大的潜力。DSSC技术也将是轻便和灵活的，这两个特性实际上开启了新的应用，包括符合消费电子设备外部的模塑塑料和可以编织到织物中的柔性纤维。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a critical understanding of the underlying mechanism affecting the efficiency of dye-sensitized titania solar cells (DSSC). This understanding is pivotal to the advancement of the technology and could help move the solar industry forward by overcoming cost and weight barriers. DSSC technology in general has experienced low efficiencies due in part to the back transfer of electrons from the titania to an oxidized dye species on the surface of the titania before the electron can reach the electrode, producing current. In this proposal a simple means of alleviating this energy wasting pathway by anchoring aromatic amines, known as co-sensitizers or donors, at low concentration along with the sensitizing dye to the surface of the titania nanoparticles will be investigated. A significant increase in the cell efficiency due to an increase in current when these species are present on the surface in combination with the dyes has been observed. Since these results contradict other work on aromatic amines used as either co-adsorbed species on titania, or as adducts to the sensitizing dye molecule itself, a study of the effects of structurally modified co-sensitizers on redox potential, photon to electron conversion efficiency, and kinetics of the electron transfer is needed to understand the photophysics of the mechanism.The commercial applications of this project will be in solar cells. DSSC technology holds the greatest potential for low cost photovoltaics due to the inexpensive materials used and the ability to manufacture in volume using roll-to-roll processes. The DSSC technology will be lightweight and flexible as well, two attributes that literally open up new applications including molded plastics that conform to the exterior of consumer electronic devices and flexible fibers that can be woven into fabrics.