A Novel Approach to Solid State Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

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Solar energy is the world's biggest renewable energy source. However, the production of conventional solar cells is still very expensive and energy consuming. Organic solar cells are a new alternative and have the potential to be an environmentally friendly and cheap energy source. The conjugated materials combine the electronic properties of semiconductors and the solution processibility of polymeric materials. This proposal describes research on solid state dye sensitized solar cells, focussing on the replacement of liquid electrolytes with discotic liquid crystalline materials as efficient hole conductors. The self-organization of the discotics in the TiO2 matrix will be investigated. A systematic study of the correlation between the alignment of the discotics in this matrix and the performance of the solar cell will be performed. Characterisation of the cells and the charge recombination dynamics of the heterojunctions is central to the understanding of the underlying fundamental physical processes. It is directly relevant to all research in the field of high efficiency dye sensitized solar cells. This is a highly interdisciplinary project bridging concepts from the field of semiconductors, molecular electronics, macromolecular organic photophysics of complex electron donor acceptor systems, and physical chemistry of organic thin films.