1. New semi-rigid triphenylamine donor moiety for D-π-A sensitizer: Theoretical and experimental investigations for DSSCs.
- Author
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Estrella, Liezel L., Lee, Sang Hee, and Kim, Dong Hee
- Subjects
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PHOTOSENSITIZERS , *CHARGE transfer , *DYE-sensitized solar cells , *DENSITY functional theory , *TRIPHENYLAMINE , *SOLAR cells - Abstract
Abstract Four novel dyes featuring new semi-rigid triphenylamine donor groups have been synthesized and successfully employed as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Opting for the new semi-rigid triphenylamine (tPA) electron-donating unit yielded a better V oc and J sc resulting to a power conversion efficiency (PCE) which is 16% higher compared to a reference dye whose electron-donating group is a conventional tPA unit. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations revealed the more favorable charge-transport properties of the dye based on the new semi-rigid donor unit. Among the synthesized dyes, the DSSC device based on Dhkx-4 dye in conjunction with iodine-based electrolyte achieved a PCE of 6.23%, with V oc of 0.661 V, J sc of 13.31 mAcm−2, and FF of 0.71 under simulated AM 1.5 G condition. Therefore, the novel semi-rigid tPA donor unit presented in this work is a promising donor group for a sensitizer in DSSCs and systematic structural engineering of the presented designs could offer valuable contributions for the development of the photovoltaic devices. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • D-π-A dyes based on a new semi-rigid triphenylamine donor were synthesized for DSSCs. • The new Dhkx-1 dye attained a PCE that is 16% higher than the L1 reference dye. • The experimental data are interpreted well by the results of DFT/TD-DFT calculation. • The solar cell device based on a simple Dhkx-4 dye attained the highest PCE of 6.23%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
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