The Relationship between Electrochemical Impedance Spectra and Photovoltaic Performance Characteristics during the Light and Thermal Ageing of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is one of the most important tools to elucidate the charge transfer and transport processes in various electrochemical systems including dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Even though there are many books and reports on EIS, it is often very difficult to explain the EIS spectra of DSSCs. Understanding EIS through calculating EIS spectra on spreadsheet can be a powerful approach as the user, without having any programming knowledge, can go through each step of calculation on a spreadsheet and get instant feedback by visualizing the calculated results or plot on the same spreadsheet. Here, a brief account of the EIS of DSSCs is given with fundamental aspects and their spreadsheet calculation. The review should help one to develop a basic understanding about EIS of DSSCs through interacting with spreadsheet.

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Analysis of Charge Transport and Recombination Studied by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells With Atomic Layer Deposited Metal Oxide Treatment on TiO2 Surface

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-1270-gg04-05 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 1270 ◽

Author(s):

Braden Bills ◽

Mariyappan Shanmugam ◽

Mahdi Farrokh Baroughi ◽

David Galipeau

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy ◽

Impedance Spectroscopy ◽

Electrochemical Impedance ◽

Photovoltaic Performance ◽

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Atomic Layer ◽

Back Reaction ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

Sensitized Solar Cells

AbstractThe performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is limited by the back-reaction of photogenerated electrons from the porous titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles back into the electrolyte solution, which occurs almost exclusively through the interface. This and the fact that DSSCs have a very large interfacial area makes their performance greatly dependant on the density and activity of TiO2 surface states. Thus, effectively engineering the TiO2/dye/electrolyte interface to reduce carrier losses is critically important for improving the photovoltaic performance of the solar cell. Atomic layer deposition (ALD), which uses high purity gas precursors that can rapidly diffuse through the porous network, was used to grow a conformal and controllable aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and hafnium oxide (HfO2) ultra thin layer on the TiO2 surface. The effects of this interfacial treatment on the DSSC performance was studied with dark and illuminated current-voltage and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements.

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Photovoltaic Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Containing ZnO Microrods

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano9121645 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 1645 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Seong Il Cho ◽

Hye Kyeong Sung ◽

Sang-Ju Lee ◽

Wook Hyun Kim ◽

Dae-Hwan Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Surface Area ◽

Electrochemical Impedance ◽

Collection Efficiency ◽

Photovoltaic Performance ◽

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Charge Recombination ◽

Growth Time ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

Sensitized Solar Cells

At an elevated temperature of 90 °C, a chemical bath deposition using an aqueous solution of Zn(NO3)2·6H2O and (CH2)6N4 resulted in the formation of both nanoflowers and microrods of ZnO on F-doped SnO2 glass with a seed layer. The nanoflowers and microrods were sensitized with dyes for application to the photoelectrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). By extending the growth time of ZnO, the formation of nanoflowers was reduced and the formation of microrods favored. As the growth time was increased from 4 to 6 and then to 8 h, the open circuit voltage (Voc) values of the DSSCs were increased, whilst the short circuit current (Jsc) values varied only slightly. Changes in the dye-loading amount, dark current, and electrochemical impedance were monitored and they revealed that the increase in Voc was found to be due to a retardation of the charge recombination between photoinjected electrons and I3− ions and resulted from a reduction in the surface area of ZnO microrods. A reduced surface area decreased the dye contents adsorbed on the ZnO microrods, and thereby decreased the light harvesting efficiency (LHE). An increase in the electron collection efficiency attributed to the suppressed charge recombination counteracted the decreased LHE, resulting in comparable Jsc values regardless of the growth time.

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Heterocyclic-Functionalized Organic Dyes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Tuning Solar Cell Performance by Structural Modification

Australian Journal of Chemistry ◽

10.1071/ch12126 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 65 (9) ◽

pp. 1203 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Qianqian Li ◽

Zhongxing Jiang ◽

Jingui Qin ◽

Zhen Li

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Molecular Design ◽

Organic Dyes ◽

Low Cost ◽

Photovoltaic Performance ◽

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Solar Cell Performance ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

The Relationship ◽

Sensitized Solar Cells

Due to their high conversion efficiency and low cost of production, dye-sensitized solar cells based on organic dyes have attracted considerable attention. By utilizing various heterocycles as construction blocks for organic dyes, the performance of solar cells was optimized to exhibit good light-harvesting features and suppress interfacial recombinations. The aim of this review is to highlight recent progress in the molecular design of heterocyclic-functionalized organic dyes for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells, and special attention has been paid to the relationship between chemical structure and the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on these dyes.

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Fabrication of TiO2/CdS heterostructure photoanodes and optimization of light scattering to improve the photovoltaic performance of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs)

10.21203/rs.3.rs-187929/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

S. Revathi ◽

A Pricilla Jeyakumari

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Conversion Efficiency ◽

Electrochemical Impedance ◽

Photovoltaic Performance ◽

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Photocurrent Density ◽

Cds Nanoparticles ◽

Molar Ratios ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract Currently, the TiO2/CdS photoanodes based dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have shown extraordinary developments in the photo conversion efficiency. In this report, pristine TiO2, CdS and various molar ratios of TiO2/CdS photoanodes were prepared by one step microwave irradiation route and followed by doctor blade method. The sheet like morphology of the TiO2 and CdS nanoparticles were clearly evident from the SEM and TEM images. A significant reduction band gap with enhanced light absorption and rapid prevention of electron hole pair was explored by UV-DRS and PL studies. The photocurrent density-voltage (J-V) and electrochemical impedance (EIS) characteristics were analyzed for assembled solar cell. The photo-conversion efficiency of 12.8% was obtained with the configuration TiO2/CdS (200 mg) that represent a 2.5 fold increment compared to bare TiO2 (5.33%) as well as commercial Pt (6.11%). The experimental results are discussed.

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Study on Carbon Nanocomposite Counterelectrode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Journal of Nanomaterials ◽

10.1155/2012/601736 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yiming Chen ◽

Haiyan Zhang ◽

Yuting Chen ◽

Jiapeng Lin

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Electrochemical Impedance ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Photovoltaic Performance ◽

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Composite Electrodes ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Carbon Nanocomposite ◽

Nanocomposite Electrodes

Carbon nanocomposite electrodes were prepared by adding carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into carbon black as counterelectrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs). The morphology and structure of carbon nanocomposite electrodes were studied by scanning electron microscopy. The influence of CNTs on the electrochemical performance of carbon nanocomposite electrodes is investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Carbon nano composite electrodes with CNTs exhibit a highly interconnected network structure with high electrical conductivity and good catalytic activity. The influence of different CNTs content in carbon nanocomposite electrodes on the open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, and filling factor of DSSCs is also investigated. DSSCs with 10% CNTs content exhibit the best photovoltaic performance in our experiments.

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A Light Harvesting Policy on Black Counter Electrode for Enhanced Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Journal of Solar Energy Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.4026099 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 136 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Chi-Hui Chien ◽

Ming-Lang Tsai ◽

Chi-Chang Hsieh ◽

Yan-Huei Li ◽

Yuh J. Chao

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Counter Electrode ◽

Light Harvesting ◽

Electrochemical Impedance ◽

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Tio2 Electrode ◽

Electrochemical Impedance Spectra ◽

Transfer Resistance ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

Sensitized Solar Cells

This work presents a novel light harvesting policy for a black counter electrode (BCE) to enhance the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), which uses a metal-based light scattering layer (MLSL) that is formed from Al@SiO2 core-shell microflakes prepared and coated on BCE. DSSCs based on BCE with and without the MLSL are compared as well. Analysis results of electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) indicate that, while not affecting the charge transfer resistance at BCE, MLSL exhibits a low electron transport resistance in the TiO2/electrolyte interface. Our results further demonstrate that MLSL reflects light to the TiO2 electrode, subsequently increasing photocurrent density by 68.68% (from 2.65 to 4.47 mA/cm2) and improving the power conversion efficiency by 49.64%.

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Effect of π-Conjugated Spacer in N-Alkylphenoxazine-Based Sensitizers Containing Double Anchors for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym13081304 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 1304

Author(s):

Yung-Sheng Yen ◽

Velu Indumathi

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Electrochemical Impedance ◽

Power Conversion ◽

Photovoltaic Performance ◽

Co Adsorption ◽

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Photovoltaic Properties ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

The Impact ◽

Sensitized Solar Cells

A series of novel double-anchoring dyes for phenoxazine-based organic dyes with two 2-cyanoacetic acid acceptors/anchors, and the inclusion of a 2-ethylhexyl chain at the nitrogen atom of the phenoxazine that is connected with furan, thiophene, and 3-hexylthiophene as a linker, are used as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells. The double-anchoring dye exhibits strong electronic coupling with TiO2, provided that there is an efficient charge injection rate. The result showed that the power conversion efficiency of DP-2 with thiophene linker-based cell reached 3.80% higher than that of DP-1 with furan linker (η = 1.53%) under standard illumination. The photovoltaic properties are further tuned by co-adsorption strategy, which improved power conversion efficiencies slightly. Further molecular theoretical computation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis of the dyes provide further insight into the molecular geometry and the impact of the different π-conjugated spacers on the photophysical and photovoltaic performance.

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Phenothiazine-based dyes for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

Journal of Materials Chemistry C ◽

10.1039/c5tc04418a ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (13) ◽

pp. 2404-2426 ◽

Cited By ~ 139

Author(s):

Zu-Sheng Huang ◽

Herbert Meier ◽

Derong Cao

Keyword(s):

Molecular Structure ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Photovoltaic Performance ◽

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Scientific Progress ◽

Photoelectric Conversion ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

The Relationship ◽

Sensitized Solar Cells

Due to their structure features, 10H-phenothiazine-based dyes show high photovoltaic performance and have great potential for future technical applications in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The recent significant scientific progress of the dyes and their DSSCs is reviewed, and the relationship between the molecular structure and the photoelectric conversion properties is especially discussed.

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