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

这项小型企业创新研究（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。这种理解对技术的进步至关重要，可以帮助推动太阳能产业克服成本和重量的障碍。DSSC技术总体上效率较低，部分原因是在电子到达电极产生电流之前，电子从二氧化钛回转移到二氧化钛表面的氧化染料上。在本研究中，我们将研究一种简单的方法，通过将低浓度的芳香胺（称为共敏剂或供体）与敏化染料一起锚定在二氧化钛纳米颗粒表面，来减轻这种能量浪费途径。当这些物质与染料结合在表面时，由于电流的增加，细胞效率显著增加。由于这些结果与其他关于芳香胺作为二氧化钛共吸附物质或作为增敏染料分子本身加合物的研究相矛盾，因此需要研究结构修饰的共增敏剂对氧化还原电位、光子到电子转换效率和电子转移动力学的影响，以了解其机理的光物理。这个项目的商业应用将在太阳能电池上。DSSC技术在低成本光伏发电方面具有最大的潜力，因为它使用了廉价的材料，并且能够使用卷对卷工艺进行批量生产。DSSC技术重量轻、柔韧性好，这两种特性为其开辟了新的应用领域，包括符合消费类电子设备外观的模塑塑料和可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.