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

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在对影响染料敏化二氧化钛太阳能电池（DSSC）效率的潜在机制进行批判性理解。这种理解对于技术的进步至关重要，可以通过克服成本和重量障碍来帮助推动太阳能行业向前发展。DSSC技术通常经历低效率，部分原因是在电子可以到达电极之前，电子从二氧化钛反向转移到二氧化钛表面上的氧化染料物质，产生电流。在该提议中，将研究通过将芳族胺（称为共敏化剂或供体）以低浓度与敏化染料沿着锚定到二氧化钛纳米颗粒的表面来减轻这种能量浪费途径的简单方法。已经观察到，当这些物质与染料组合存在于表面上时，由于电流增加，电池效率显著增加。由于这些结果相矛盾的芳族胺作为二氧化钛上的共吸附物种，或作为加合物的敏化染料分子本身的其他工作，结构改性的共敏化剂的氧化还原电位，光子到电子的转换效率，和动力学的电子转移的影响的研究是需要了解的mechanism.The商业应用该项目将在太阳能电池。DSSC技术由于使用廉价的材料和使用卷对卷工艺进行批量制造的能力而具有低成本光致发光的最大潜力。DSSC技术将是轻量级和灵活的，这两个属性实际上开辟了新的应用，包括符合消费电子设备外部的模制塑料和可以编织成织物的柔性纤维。

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.