Effect of electrolyte bleaching on the stability and performance of dye solar cells

Mastroianni, Simone; Asghar, Muhammad Imran; Miettunen, Kati; Halme, Janne; Lanuti, Alessandro; Brown, Thomas M.; Lund, Peter

doi:10.1039/c3cp55342f

Cited by 52 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(114 reference statements)

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“…15 On the evidence of Fig. 1, it seems that after the aging, group A and possibly also group E performed worse than the other groups.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the electrolyte bleaching seems to be a photoinduced effect, which is in accordance with the literature. 24,15,38 The post-aging I sc,T i O 2 calculated with Eq. 1 were compared to the actual I sc measured with the solar simulator to evaluate the effect of PE degradation on the decrease in I sc .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even small amounts of UV light might, however, be harmful in the long term if UV light triggers side reactions leading to irreversible electrolyte degradation, as has been suggested. 16,15,44 In this case, the damage caused by the UV light would simply be linearly related to the amount of UV in the illumination instead of having some threshold value below which no damage would be caused.…”

Section: (Ncs)(h 2 O)] [Rul 2 (Ncs)(mpn)] [Rul 2 (Ncs)(nmbi)] [Rulmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cell photographing results in the same conclusion but also brings an important new piece of informa- tion: the degradation occurs through significant electrolyte bleaching. Electrolyte bleaching has been connected to UV exposure 24,44,15,45,46 and suggested to be caused by oxidative species generated under the illumination. 15,1,47,48 The illumination spectrum of the light soaking lamps is shown in S.I.…”

Section: (Ncs)(h 2 O)] [Rul 2 (Ncs)(mpn)] [Rul 2 (Ncs)(nmbi)] [Rulmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From the industrial point of view, material purification increases the production costs of the cells. Thus the necessity of material purification should be studied carefully, 1,15 just like any step that increases the complexity of the production. The objective of this study is to investigate if cell efficiency and stability increase as a result of the purification of the electrolyte material.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effect of Electrolyte Purification on the Performance and Long-Term Stability of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Tiihonen

Miettunen

Rendon

et al. 2015

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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In this study the effect of the purification of electrolyte material on the performance and long-term stability of dye-sensitized solar cells is investigated. The combined effect of purifying all the electrolyte materials has been examined, as has the effect of purifying each compound to identify those compounds worth purifying and to eliminate unnecessary production steps on an industrial scale. Statistical methods were employed to draw statistically significant conclusions from the experimental results. No effect on the initial cell performance is found in this study. The purity of the electrolyte solvent (here methoxypropionitrile) is shown to have a remarkable effect on the cell lifetime: it could even double when the cell is properly purified. It is shown that exposing the cell to even relatively small amounts of UV light resulted in cell degradation through electrolyte bleaching during a 1000 hour aging test. Here the impurities in the electrolyte solvent lead to an almost doubled rate of electrolyte bleaching under UV light. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have the potential to become a low-cost alternative to silicon solar cells in the future. They can be made out of sustainable materials, they have a wide application area, and they are on the threshold of large-scale production.1 They are also efficient: an 11.9% efficiency record for DSSCs has been achieved.2 At the moment one of the main challenges is the cell stability. DSSC stability for approximately 20 years in outdoor conditions is an essential prerequisite for the introduction of DSSCs into the wide commercial market, e.g., in the form of building-integrated panels. The structure of DSSCs is quite complicated and unfortunately the components tend to age when the DSSC is exposed long-term to light, humidity, and extreme temperatures. 3,1,4,5,6,7,8 Material purification has been proposed to increase the stability of the cells.9-12 The use of highly pure materials is also regarded as an essential step in the preparation of most efficient cells. 13,10,14 The reported data do not, however, include direct comparisons of purified and unpurified materials, which would be essential for assessing the importance of material purification in cell fabrication. From the industrial point of view, material purification increases the production costs of the cells. Thus the necessity of material purification should be studied carefully, 1,15 just like any step that increases the complexity of the production. The objective of this study is to investigate if cell efficiency and stability increase as a result of the purification of the electrolyte material. The effect of the purification of all the electrolyte materials has been studied and the effect of each compound has been statistically compared and analyzed. The research continues in, 16 where the effect of dye purification on cell efficiency and lifetime is studied.It is still quite common in the field to utilize only a few tests, mainly IV curve measurements in aging studies, or to test the cells only at the...

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“…15 On the evidence of Fig. 1, it seems that after the aging, group A and possibly also group E performed worse than the other groups.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (Ncs)(h 2 O)] [Rul 2 (Ncs)(mpn)] [Rul 2 (Ncs)(nmbi)] [Rulmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (Ncs)(h 2 O)] [Rul 2 (Ncs)(mpn)] [Rul 2 (Ncs)(nmbi)] [Rulmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The Effect of Electrolyte Purification on the Performance and Long-Term Stability of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Tiihonen

Miettunen

Rendon

et al. 2015

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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Stability Assessment Strategy for Counter Electrode Catalysts of Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Yun

Lund

2018

Counter Electrodes for Dye‐sensitized and Perovskite Solar Cells

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Procedures and Practices for Evaluating Thin‐Film Solar Cell Stability

Roesch

Faber

Hauff

et al. 2015

Advanced Energy Materials

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149

133

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functionality such as solution processing, have been the motivation driving these technologies. Additionally, compared to more conventional photovoltaics such as silicon solar cells, the device operation principles of many of these thin fi lm photovoltaic technologies are dependent on complex physical mechanisms, such as excitonic processes, photoinduced charge separation, functional material interfaces.Whereas initial research efforts were focused on understanding the underlying device physics and improvements in power conversion effi ciency, with increasing maturity of these photovoltaic technologies, growing efforts are now being invested into the understanding of underlying degradation mechanisms and the improvement of device stability. In addition to effi ciency, increased device lifetimes are fundamental requirements for transforming these technologies into an economic viability. In early studies, many stability investigations with various stress conditions were conducted in order to gain a better understanding of the degradation mechanisms. Currently, however, a consolidation towards some common stress scenarios for stability has been pursued in order to enable a better comparability between results of different research labs worldwide. A particularly well organized large scale effort was conducted within the framework of the International Summit on Organic Solar Cell Stability (ISOS), leading to the so-called ISOS-protocols. Nowadays, During the last few decades, and in some cases only the last few years, novel thin-fi lm photovoltaic (PV) technologies such as dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), organic solar cells (OPV), and, more recently, perovskite-based solar cells (PSC) have been growing in maturity with respect to device performance and device stability. Together with new material systems, novel device architectures have also been introduced. Both parameters will have an effect on the overall device stability. In order to improve the understanding of degradation effects and how they can be prevented, stress testing under different conditions is commonly applied. By careful combination of stress factors and thorough analysis of photovoltaic parameter decaying curves, an understanding of the underlying degradation pathways can be gained. With the help of standardized and accelerated stress tests, as described in the ISOS-protocols, statements concerning application lifetimes can fi nally be made and compared among different labs. Once a photovoltaic technology has proven long lasting durability, the ultimate barrier for entering the commercial market are the IEC tests, taking a deeper look on overall safety and reliability, not only on durability. Here, the most prominent stress tests are reviewed, discussed and extended with respect to learning the most about photovoltaic device stability.

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Effect of electrolyte bleaching on the stability and performance of dye solar cells

Cited by 52 publications

References 64 publications

The Effect of Electrolyte Purification on the Performance and Long-Term Stability of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

The Effect of Electrolyte Purification on the Performance and Long-Term Stability of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Stability Assessment Strategy for Counter Electrode Catalysts of Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Procedures and Practices for Evaluating Thin‐Film Solar Cell Stability

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