Applicability of alkoxysilyl group was examined for the first time as the anchor moiety of sensitizing dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells by using alkoxysilylazobenzenes. Alkoxysilylazobenzenes adsorbed efficiently onto TiO2 electrodes by the formation of Si–O–Ti bonds, and the electrodes exhibited much higher durability to water and better photovoltaic performance than in the case of a conventional carboxy dye.
The effects of the introduction of alkylsilyl groups to porphyrin dyes on their sensitizing property in dye-sensitized solar cells were investigated by using a newly synthesized tetraphenylporphyrincarboxylic acid containing trimethylsilyl groups. The cell with the porphyrin showed higher photovoltaic performance than that with a tert-butyl-containing analog, and the zinc complex of the porphyrin exhibited remarkably high sensitizing performance comparable to N3 dye.
In dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated with azobenzene and azulene derivatives as the photosensitizing dyes, the replacement of the conventional I3-/I-redox mediator with Br3-/Br-redox mediator possessing more positive redox potential has been examined to improve open-circuit photovoltages (Voc) of the cells. The cells with the Br3-/Br-redox mediator exhibited highVocof ~0.8 V, resulting in higher light-to-electric energy conversion efficiencies (η) than the cells with the I3-/I-redox mediator by a factor of 1.7 under the simulated sunlight irradiation (AM-1.5G, 100 mW cm-2). The results indicate a high potential of the Br3-/Br-redox mediator in DSSCs.
As a means to make a flexible dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), we prepared a TiO2 electrode by using a micro-metal textile made from Sn-plated Cu wires, and examined applicability of the micro-metal textile as a substrate for the electrode. The TiO2 electrodes were prepared successfully by painting a TiO2 paste to the textile using a squeegee method followed by sintering at 500 °C, and the electrodes showed no exfoliation of the TiO2 layer from the textile even when the electrode was bent to a cylindrical shape with 10-mm diameter. The solar cells constructed with these electrodes, on which N3 dye was adsorbed as a sensitizer, exhibited actually a photovoltaic performance. The results indicated the applicability of the micro-metal textile as the flexible substrate for the TiO2 electrode producing an efficient flexible DSSC.
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