Design of solar cell materials via soft X-ray spectroscopy

Himpsel, F. J.; Cook, Peter L.; Torre, Gema de la; Garcı́a-Lastra, J. M.; González-Moreno, Rubén; Guo, Jinghua; Hamers, Robert J.; Kronawitter, Coleman X.; Johnson, Phillip S.; Ortega, J. E.; Pickup, David F.; Ragoussi, Maria‐Eleni; Rogero, Celia; Rubio, Ángel; Ruther, Rose E.; Vayssières, Lionel; Yang, Wanli; Zegkinoglou, Ioannis

doi:10.1016/j.elspec.2012.10.002

Cited by 17 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The empty part can be probed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Fe 2p edge, which exhibits a rich manifold of sharp Fe 2p-to-3d transitions. 52, 58 Such a study should be able to address how the cage structure of the Fe atom affects its 3d manifold via the crystal field splitting. That in turn controls the stability of the dye molecules against oxidation, which is one of the major issues with Fe-based molecules.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Electronic structure of Fe- vs. Ru-based dye molecules

Johnson

Cook

Zegkinoglou

et al. 2013

The Journal of Chemical Physics

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In order to explore whether Ru can be replaced by inexpensive Fe in dye molecules for solar cells, the differences in the electronic structure of Fe-and Ru-based dyes are investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. Molecules with the metal in a sixfold, octahedral N cage, such as tris(bipyridines) and tris(phenanthrolines), exhibit a systematic downward shift of the N 1s-to-π * transition when Ru is replaced by Fe. This shift is explained by an extra transfer of negative charge from the metal to the N ligands in the case of Fe, which reduces the binding energy of the N 1s core level. The C 1s-to-π * transitions show the opposite trend, with an increase in the transition energy when replacing Ru by Fe. Molecules with the metal in a fourfold, planar N cage (porphyrins) exhibit a more complex behavior due to a subtle competition between the crystal field, axial ligands, and the 2+ vs. 3+ oxidation states.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…51 Overall, this research is part of a program to measure the energy levels relevant to the performance of solar cells. 52 Such results provide the input for designing optimized combinations of materials for solar cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electronic structure of Fe- vs. Ru-based dye molecules

Johnson

Cook

Zegkinoglou

et al. 2013

The Journal of Chemical Physics

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“…Therefore, in principle, it is possible to tailor the HOMO and HOMO‐LUMO gap by varying the metal atoms . Experimentally, XAS and XES experiments with a large coverage on available biomimetic molecules provide a first‐hand database of both the LUMO and HOMO electronic states for testifying theoretical predictions …”

Section: Soft X‐ray Absorption Non‐resonant and Resonant Emission Spmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mirror enables continuous adjustment of the beam size, i.e., brightness. Coupled with high‐efficiency multichannel plate (MCP) detector, Himpsel et al have been able to perform high‐resolution XAS on various biomimetic molecules for organic solar cell applications . The Fe‐ 2p XAS in Figure is collected on cytochrome C .…”

Section: Soft X‐ray Absorption Non‐resonant and Resonant Emission Spmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Progress on Synchrotron‐Based In‐Situ Soft X‐ray Spectroscopy for Energy Materials

2014

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Soft X-ray spectroscopy (SXS) techniques such as photoelectron spectroscopy, soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray emission spectroscopy are efficient and direct tools to probe electronic structures of materials. Traditionally, these surface sensitive soft X-ray techniques that detect electrons or photons require high vacuum to operate. Many recent in situ instrument developments of these techniques have overcome this vacuum barrier. One can now study many materials and model devices under near ambient, semi-realistic, and operando conditions. Further developments of integrating the realistic sample environments with efficient and high resolution detection methods, particularly at the high brightness synchrotron light sources, are making SXS an important tool for the energy research community. In this progress report, we briefly describe the basic concept of several SXS techniques and discuss recent development of SXS instruments. We then present several recent studies, mostly in situ SXS experiments, on energy materials and devices. Using these studies, we would like to highlight that the integration of SXS and in situ environments can provide in-depth insight of material's functionality and help researchers in new energy material developments. The remaining challenges and critical research directions are discussed at the end.

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“…In a semiconductor solar cell, electrons and holes -created when the solar photon energies exceed the bandgap -are pulled apart by the electric field between the p-and n-doped regions (see in Figure 2). [8] Voltage builds up until the conduction and valence bands flatten. The efficiency for the energy conversion and the cost are limiting factors.…”

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confidence: 99%

In-situ/operando soft x-ray spectroscopy characterization of energy and catalytic materials

Liu

Feng

Glans

et al. 2020

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

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The capabilities of soft x-ray absorption (XAS), soft x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering (RIXS), and their application to characterization of solar energy materials are presented. We have discussed some recent developments of in-situ soft x-ray spectroscopy cells, which enable the investigation of critical solid/liquid or solid/gas interfaces in chemical and electrochemical processes under real-world practical conditions. In particular, in-situ soft x-ray spectroscopies can be utilized to probe the formation of intermediate species, charge separation upon illumination of sunlight and electron transfer to the interfacial reactions. A number of examples using soft x-ray spectroscopies to study these solar energy and catalytic materials are discussed to demonstrate how these powerful characterization tools could be helpful to further understand the energy conversion and energy storage systems.

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Design of solar cell materials via soft X-ray spectroscopy

Cited by 17 publications

References 43 publications

Electronic structure of Fe- vs. Ru-based dye molecules

Electronic structure of Fe- vs. Ru-based dye molecules

Recent Progress on Synchrotron‐Based In‐Situ Soft X‐ray Spectroscopy for Energy Materials

In-situ/operando soft x-ray spectroscopy characterization of energy and catalytic materials

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