Dual Functional Polymer Interlayer for Facilitating Ion Transport and Reducing Charge Recombination in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

详细信息    查看全文

• 作者：Ying-Chiao Wang ; Shao-Sian Li ; Cheng-Yen Wen ; Liang-Yih Chen ; Kuo-Chuan Ho ; Chun-Wei Chen
• 刊名：ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：December 14, 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：8
• 期：49
• 页码：33666-33672
• 全文大小：426K
• ISSN：1944-8252

文摘

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) present low-cost alternatives to conventional wafer-based inorganic solar cells and have remarkable power conversion efficiency. To further enhance performance, we propose a new DSSC architecture with a novel dual-functional polymer interlayer that prevents charge recombination and facilitates ionic conduction, as well as maintaining dye loading and regeneration. Poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (p(VDF-TrFE)) was coated on the outside of a dye-sensitized TiO₂ photoanode by a simple solution process that did not sacrifice the amount of adsorbed dye molecules in the DSSC device. Light-intensity-modulated photocurrent and photovoltage spectroscopy revealed that the proposed p(VDF-TrFE)-coated anode yielded longer electron lifetime and improved the injection of photogenerated electrons into TiO₂, thereby reducing the electron transport time. Comparative cyclic voltammetry and UV–visible absorption spectroscopy based on a ferrocene–ferrocenium external standard material demonstrated that p(VDF-TrFE) enhanced the power conversion efficiency from 7.67% to 9.11%. This dual functional p(VDF-TrFE) interlayer is a promising candidate for improving the performance of DSSCs and can also be employed in other electrochemical devices.