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A new crosslinked polymer, called P65, with appropriate photo-electrochemical, opto-electronic, and thermal properties, has been designed and synthesized as an efficient, dopant-free, hole-transpor ...

This paper aims to develop high quality screen-printed Al emitters and improve the interface condition of rear contacts in industrial silicon solar cells. We propose to introduce an ultra-thin SiO2 buffer layer between the silicon bulk and metal contact during the fabrication process. A post-annealing strategy is adapted to further modify the Al doping profiles. The experimental results show that the effects of this oxide layer on migrating the nonuniformity of Al-p+ region and decreasing the defects at the metal–silicon interface are significant. The recombination velocity of contacts, which is extracted from the measured Srear by an analytical model, exhibits a decrease by 90.8% and the series resistance is reduced by 60.3% for the improved contacts compared to the conventional screen-printed contacts. Finally, this technique is applied to large-area (156 × 156 mm2) industrial n-type silicon solar cells and leads to a 2.18% increase in average cell efficiency, including a 12.82 mV increase in open-circuit voltage Voc and 0.99 mA cm−2 increase in short-circuit current density Jsc compared with solar cells fabricated by a standard industrial process. A 19.16% efficient cell with a Voc of 637.47 mV is achieved.

Perovskite films are apt to format defects on surface and in grain boundaries, which results in inferior photovoltaic performance. Moreover, perovskite materials are sensitive to Ultraviolet (UV) light and are easily damaged under UV light illumination, accelerating the degradation of Perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Therefore, it is significant to design and develop effective defect passivation and UV inhibitors for efficient and stable PSCs. Herein, a small molecular material 2,5-bis(perfluorophenyl)thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole (PFP2TTz) was designed and introduced into the perovskite precursor solution. The research manifested that PFP2TTz is a bifunctional additive, acting as both defect passivation and Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) agents. Through FRET action, the spectrum response in the short wavelength region and the device stability under UV light illumination were remarkably enhanced. Moreover, the PFP2TTz-treatment can significantly decrease the trap state density of perovskite film. Correspondingly, the PFP2TTz-treated PSC device exhibited an impressive Power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.38%, which is much higher than the control device (19.27%). Meanwhile, the unencapsulated PFP2TTz-treated PSC device exhibits long-term stability, maintaining their initial PCE of 90.4% up to 30 days under relative humidity of 45–55%.

In order to further boost the photovoltaic performance of all-inorganic perovskite solar cells (PSCs), great efforts are needed to synergistically develop high-quality perovskite film and highly efficient charge transport materials. In view of the fact that large number of researchers have devoted to optimizing the crystal composition and crystallization kinetics, we chose to carry out the study from the perspective of hole transport layer. Herein, we designed and synthesized two low-cost fluorene terminal-modified hole transport materials (HTMs), termed YT-MPF and YT-FF. Moreover, through the modification of peripheral groups, the electrostatic surface potentials of HTMs are well regulated. The HTM YT-MPF with one peripheral fluorene arm on each side exhibits a more polarized structure, which facilitates the intermolecular interaction and hole hopping transport. Applied YT-MPF in CsPbI2Br based all-inorganic PSC, an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 16.0% with fairly high open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.29 V is obtained, outperforming that of the control devices based on traditional HTM PTAA (12.7%) and Spiro-OMeTAD (14.7%). Our research supplies an effective way to push up the performance of CsPbI2Br PSC.

The inorganic p-type semiconductor CuI possesses several unique characteristics such as high transparency, low-production cost, high hole mobility, and good chemical stability and is a promising ho ...

Journal of the American Chemical Society 142(41), 17681 - 17692 (2020). doi:10.1021/jacs.0c08352, Conjugated polymers are regarded as promising candidates for dopant-free hole-transport materials (HTMs) in efficient and stable perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Thus far, the vast majority of polymeric HTMs feature structurally complicated benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b’]dithiophene (BDT) analogs and electron-withdrawing heterocycles, forming a strong donor–acceptor (D–A) structure. Herein, a new class of phenanthrocarbazole (PC)-based polymeric HTMs (PC1, PC2, and PC3) has been synthesized by inserting a PC unit into a polymeric thiophene or selenophene chain with the aim of enhancing the $π–π$ stacking of adjacent polymer chains and also to efficiently interact with the perovskite surface through the broad and planar conjugated backbone of the PC. Suitable energy levels, excellent thermostability, and humidity resistivity together with remarkable photoelectric properties are obtained via meticulously tuning the conformation and elemental composition of the polymers. As a result, PSCs containing PC3 as dopant-free HTM show a stabilized power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.8% and significantly enhanced longevity, rendering one of the best types of PSCs based on dopant-free HTMs. Subsequent experimental and theoretical studies reveal that the planar conformation of the polymers contributes to an ordered and face-on stacking of the polymer chains. Furthermore, introduction of the “Lewis soft” selenium atom can passivate surface trap sites of perovskite films by Pb–Se interaction and facilitate the interfacial charge separation significantly. This work reveals the guiding principles for rational design of dopant-free polymeric HTMs and also inspires rational exploration of small molecular HTMs., Published by American Chemical Society, Washington, DC

The present case report describes a rare case of recurring lumps on the external ear in a 46-year-old Chinese male with a history of >10 years, who presented with large irregular red lumps on the right temple and with lung and skull base metastasis. The patient had a lesion in the right auricle and experienced recurrence following surgical resection. A thorough systemic evaluation revealed no other obvious abnormalities. The patient was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), a slow-growing form of high-grade adenocarcinoma, and refused any further treatment at the present hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University). At 2 years post-follow-up, the patient had become more frail but was in good spirits. The present study indicated that ACC is a low-grade and commonly slow-developing malignancy that primarily arises from a salivary gland, with recurring and metastatic characteristics.

The interfacial defects passivation of perovskite is one of the most effective approaches to realize highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, we propose an easy in-situ secondary annealing method by using a quaternary ammonium salt tetraethylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TEAH) to enhance the photovoltaic performance and device stability. The research manifests that TEAH can homogeneously distribute on the perovskite surface, and effectively passivate the surface and boundary defects. Correspondingly, the hole extraction from perovskite to the hole transport layer (HTL) is greatly improved, hindering the non-radiative charge carrier recombination. With the introduction of TEAH treatment, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the PSC has been elevated from 18.57% to 20.25%, with well suppressed hysteresis. Moreover, the exposed hydrophobic ethyl-terminal groups of TEAH can protect perovskite film from degradation by ambient moisture in some extent. As a result, TEAH treated PSC exhibits good stability, retaining 74.1% of its initial PCE after 680 h aging under ambient air with a relative humidity (RH) of 55–60%.

Hole transport material (HTM) is an indispensable part of highly efficient perovskite solar cells (PSC). Designing new HTMs with suitable energy levels and desired electronic properties is critical to realize efficient and stable PSCs. Herein, two phenothiazine (PTZ) core building block based HTMs, termed PTZ-Py and PTZ-Bz, are reported. Applied in PSCs, the research results manifest that the introduced pyridine group, on the one hand, can deeply impact the electronic properties (energy levels and charge carrier mobility) and film-forming property; on the other hand, can efficiently passivate the perovskite surface defects, in turn, enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and device stability. Under the optimized fabrication conditions, the HTM PTZ-Py based PSC obtains the highest PCE of 19.9%, and maintains around 90% initial efficiency after 1000 h aging in ambient condition with RH 50–65%. By using PTZ-Py as interface layer together with Spiro-OMeTAD, an improved PCE of 22.1% was obtained.

The development of low-cost alternatives to the commonly used but expensive platinum (Pt) catalyst in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is important from a commercial point of view. In this work, Cu9S5 nanocrystalline film is fabricated directly onto a F-doped SnO2 (FTO) substrate by a solution-processed spin-coating method with low temperature post-treatment at 250 °C and it is further explored as a counter electrode (CE) material in DSSCs. The results from cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) disclose that Cu9S5 film exhibits a higher catalytic ability for the state-of-the-art cobalt(II/III) tris(bipyridyl) ([Co(bpy)3]2+/3+) redox system as compared to the widely used iodine-based electrolyte. Consequently, the DSSC devices based on the cobalt complex redox shuttles show a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.7% measured at 100 mW cm−2 illumination (AM 1.5G), which is substantially higher than that of the iodine-based counterpart (3.9%). This has been the first presentation for the application of digenite copper sulfides as an electrocatalyst for the [Co(bpy)3]2+/3+ redox system in DSSCs. The present finding represents a promising solution for the development of alternative cost-effective CE materials for DSSCs in the future.

The [copper(6,6′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine)2]2+/1+ ([Cu(dmbp)2]2+/1+) redox couple, which possesses a distorted tetragonal geometry of a Cu(I) complex crystal and a distorted tetrahedral coordination geometry of Cu(II) complex crystal, has been developed as a redox mediator in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The energy of loss for dye regeneration was reduced with a very low but sufficient driving force of only 0.11 eV. A distinct increase in open-circuit voltage (VOC) was achieved and a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 10.3% was afforded at 100 mW cm−2 under AM 1.5G condition.

In this work, we have successfully introduced 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ) as an efficient p-type dopant for donor–acceptor (D–A) co-polymer poly[2,6-(4,4-bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b;3,4-b′]dithiophene)-alt-4,7(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)] (PCPDTBT) as an HTM in mesoscopic perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The bulk conductivity is significantly enhanced by 4 orders of magnitude when PCPDTBT is doped with F4TCNQ (6%, w/w). UV-vis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results indicate the occurrence of p-doping, which results in higher bulk conductivity. The high conductivity leads to an impressive overall efficiency of 15.1%, which is considerably higher than the pristine PCPDTBT based devices (9.2%). The superior performance obtained should be largely attributed to the significant enhancement of the photocurrent density strongly correlated with a more efficient charge collection. This is the highest efficiency reported so far for PCPDTBT-based PSCs. Thus, molecularly p-doping has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy for further improving the performance of a wide range of D–A and other types of polymeric HTMs in PSCs.

The composite of cobaltosic sulfide/electrospun carbon nanofibers (Co3S4/ECs) with high catalytic activity have been successfully synthesized by combining the versatility of the electrospunning technique and following a hydrothermal synthesis method. And the composite of Co3S4/ECs was introduced into dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) as counter electrode (CE) for the first time. Combining a new electrolyte with iodide free redox couples involving Co3+/2+, the Co3S4/ECs composite demonstrated good performance in DSCs. Under AM 1.5G illuminations, the DSCs based on Co3S4/ECs composite CE achieved a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.23%, which increased by 10.1% compared to the DSCs based on Pt CE (8.38%). (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pure inorganic perovskite of CsPbI3 attracts great attentions due to its excellent thermal stability and more suitable bandgap for tandem solar cells. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of CsPbI3 perovskite solar cells has swiftly increased to 19.03%. However, extensive researches on the material property and photovoltaic characterization are rather rare in the literatures. In this study, a remarkable light soaking effect is found in the CsPbI3 based perovskite solar cells as the PCE increases from 10.8% to 18.3% after 180 s soaking under AM 1.5G sunlight. Mechanisms behind this reproducible soaking effect have also been studied. It reveals that the depressed dark current caused by a stronger built-in field and the decreased defects density passivated by the photogenerated electrons result in the enhanced PCE after light soaking. Moreover, we carefully characterize that the supposed “HPbI3” should be “DMAPbI3” synthesized through anti-solvent vapor recrystallisation method.

This paper aims to develop high quality screen-printed Al emitters and improve the interface condition of rear contacts in industrial silicon solar cells. We propose to introduce an ultra-thin SiO

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Two metal-free organic dyes with triphenylamide (TPA) as the donor group and pyridinium (m-carboxyl-N-methylpyridinium and N-methylcarboxylpyridinium) as the acceptor and anchoring group have been synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). A systematic investigation of the relationship between the structures and physical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties has been conducted. The devices sensitized by TJ101 which employed m-carboxyl-N-methylpyridinium as the acceptor group has achieved a conversion efficiency of 5.4% (Jsc = 10.8 mA cm−2, Voc = 680 mV, FF = 74.2%) under AM 1.5 irradiation. In contrast, much lower efficiency of 4.0% was obtained when a reference dye TJ101R with m-carboxylpyridine as the acceptor group was employed as a sensitizer.

Herein, we successfully applied a facile in-situ solid-state synthesis of conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) as a HTM, directly on top of the perovskite layer, in conventional mesoscopic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) (n-i-p structure). The fabrication of the PEDOT film only involved a very simple in-situ solid-state polymerisation step from a monomer 2,5-dibromo-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (DBEDOT) made from a commercially available and cheap starting material. The ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) demonstrated that the as-prepared PEDOT film possesses the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level of −5.5 eV, which facilitates an effective hole extraction from the perovskite absorber as confirmed by the photoluminescence measurements. Optimised PSC devices employing this polymeric HTM in combination with a low-cost vacuum-free carbon cathode (replacing the gold), show an excellent power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.0% measured at 100 mW cm−2 illumination (AM 1.5G), with an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.05 V, a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 23.5 mA/cm2 and a fill factor (FF) of 0.69, respectively. The present finding highlights the potential application of PEDOT made from solid-state polymerisation as a HTM for cost-effective and highly efficient PSCs.

A series of novel laterally anchoring tetrahydroquinoline derivatives have been synthesized and investigated for their use in NiO-based p-type dye-sensitized solar cells. The kinetics of charge injection and recombination at the NiO-dye interface for these dyes have been thoroughly investigated using picosecond transient absorption and time-resolved infrared measurements. It was revealed that despite the anchoring unit being electronically decoupled from the dye structure, charge injection occurred on a sub picosecond timescale. However, rapid recombination was also observed due to the close proximity of the electron acceptor on the dyes to the NiO surface, ultimately limiting the performance of the p-DSCs.

A new class of organic dyes based on acenaphthopyrazine derivatives, containing pyrazine group as the electron acceptor and o-dicarboxyl acids as the anchoring groups were designed and synthesized ...

Novel org. dyes (C1-1, C1-5 and C2-1) with a tetrahydroquinoline moiety as the electron donor, different thiophene-contg. electron spacers and a cyanoacrylic acid moiety as the electron acceptor have been designed and synthesized for the application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). An interesting relationship between the dye structures, properties, and the performance of DSSCs based on these tetrahydroquinoline dyes is obtained. Although C2-1 dye, which has a rigid electron spacer, has the narrowest action spectrum among these dyes, it gives the highest solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency (η) of 4.49% (Voc = 600 mV, Jsc = 11.20 mA/cm2, ff = 0.67) of a DSSC under simulated AM 1.5 irradn. (100 mW/cm2). Under the same conditions, the η value of a DSSC based on N3 dye is 6.16%. [on SciFinder(R)]

T-cell receptor (TCR)-mediated cross-recognition is a major mechanism in the pathogenesis of drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome. However, the characteristics of the TCR repertoire and the clinical significance of repertoire reformation throughout the course of DRESS are unknown. Here, we isolated CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells from peripheral blood of 8 DRESS patients at 10-day intervals and, sequenced CDR3-regions of the TCRB chain by high-throughput sequencing to analyze the dynamic reformation in the T-cell repertoire hierarchy. Compared with healthy donors, T-cell expanded in peripheral repertoires from DRESS patient. The extent of fluctuation of dominant CD8+ T-cell clones, but not of CD4+ counterparts, correlated positively with the clinical severity and helped classify the enrolled subjects into “fluctuant” and “flat” repertoire groups. The anti-herpesvirus response, which was measured using anti-EBV/HHV antibodies and the proportion of the homologous CD8+ EBV-specific clonotypes, in the “fluctuant” group was substantial higher than that in the “flat” group. Furthermore, autoimmune sequelae were observed in a cured “fluctuant” patient. Collectively, the clinical relevance of the fluctuant CD8+ T-cell repertoires supports the notion that herpes virus-mediated continuously de novo priming of newly pathogenic CD8+ T-cell clones is an alternate mechanism responsible for the pathogenicity of DRESS.

Transcription factor FOXP3 (forkhead box P3) is found initially as a key regulator in regulatory T cells. Recently its expression has been demonstrated in some non-lymphoid normal and cancerous cells. Now FOXP3 has been proven to regulate cancer-related genes, especially suppressor genes in breast cancer. But the mechanisms by which FOXP3 regulates suppressor genes are not fully determined. In this study, we found the inverse correlation between FOXP3 and Ezh2, an enzyme for histone H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) and a central epigenetic regulator in cancer. The overexpression of FOXP3 weakened Ezh2's enhancement on the mammosphere formation, cell proliferation, directional migration, and colony forming ability of T47D cells. We demonstrated that FOXP3 could downregulate Ezh2 protein level and this depended on not only the FOXP3 expression amount, but also the nuclear localization of FOXP3. More importantly, we demonstrated FOXP3 accelerated Ezh2 protein degradation through the polyubiquitination–proteasome pathway by enhancing the transcription of E3 ligase Praja1 directly. These results provided a new mechanism for FOXP3 in histone modifications as an Ezh2 suppressor and supported new evidence for FOXP3 as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer.

We report on femtosecond–nanosecond (fs–ns) studies of the triphenylamine organic dye (TPC1) interacting with titania nanoparticles of different sizes, nanotubes and nanorods. We used time-resolved emission and absorption spectroscopy to measure the photoinduced dynamics of forward and back electron transfer processes taking place in TPC1–titania complexes in acetonitrile (ACN) and dichloromethane (DCM) solutions. We observed that the electron injection from the dye to titania occurs in a multi-exponential way with the main contribution of 100 fs from the hot excited charge-transfer state of anchored TPC1. This process competes with the relaxation of the excited state, mainly governed by solvation, that takes place with average time constants of 400 fs in ACN and 1.3 ps in DCM solutions. A minor contribution to the electron injection process takes place with longer time constants of about 1–10 ps from the relaxed excited state of TPC1. The latter times and their contribution do not depend on the size of the nanoparticles, but are substantially smaller in the case of nanotubes (1–3 ps), probably due to the caging effect. The contribution is also smaller in DCM than in ACN. The efficient back recombination takes place also in a multi-exponential way with times of 1 ps, 15 ps and 1 ns, and only 20–30% of the initial injected electrons in the conduction band are left within the first 1 ns after excitation. The faster recombination rates are suggested due to those originating from the free electrons in the conduction band of titania or the electrons in the shallow trap states, while the slower recombination is due to the electrons in the deep trap states. The results reported here should be relevant to a better understanding of the photobehaviour of an organic dye with promising potential for use in solar cells. They should also help to determine the important factors that limit the efficiency of solar cells based on the triphenylamine-based dyes for solar energy conversion., This work was supported by the JCCM and MICINN through projects PCI08-0037-5868 and MAT2008-01609, respectively. M.Z. thanks the support from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no 235286 (NANOSOL).

Microsporum gypseum is a geographically widespread geophilic fungus that infects animals and humans. M. gypseum infection on the scrotum is very rare and can be easily misdiagnosed because of a lack of inflammatory reaction. Here we describe a patient with pseudomembranous-like tinea of the scrotum resulting from M. gypseum.

D–π–A and D–A–π–A-structured organic dyes represent different developmental directions of photosensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In this work, two phenothiazine derivatives-based D–π–A and D–A–π–A-structured organic dyes have been synthesized and applied in DSSCs. The physical and electrochemical properties of both dyes have been investigated systematically. The results show that the D–A–π–A-structured dye exhibits a broader spectrum response but lower molar coefficient of extinction when compared to the D–π–A-structured dye. Regarding photovoltaic performance, the D–π–A-structured dye yields a higher efficiency (η) of 7.5% with a higher short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 16.36 mA cm−2 and open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 706 mV than that of the D–A–π–A-structured dye. Incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) studies and impedance analysis also support these results. These results demonstrate that the phenothiazine derivatives-based D–π–A-structured organic dyes can compete with, and even exceed, D–A–π–A-structured organic dyes under the same test conditions.

In D–π–A structured organic dyes, rhodanine acetic acid and its derivates have served as electron acceptors successfully. In this work, two single rhodanine organic dyes with different methylene units have been synthesized and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The photophysical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties have been studied systematically. The results show that dye with double methylene units produces a higher photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (η) of 4.5% than that of a single methylene unit dye with a η of 4.1%. Also, it is interesting to notice that the lengthened distance between electron acceptor and TiO2 surface does not decrease the short-circuit current density (Jsc) and IPCE response for both structured dyes. On the contrary, rhodanine dye bearing double methylene units exhibits a better Jsc and IPCE response than the single methylene unit. The explanation for this trend is probably due to the fact that increased methylene units could suppress regeneration between the injected electron and the oxidized dye effectively.

A series of novel organic dyes containing a benzopyran ring as a π–bridge have been designed and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). This series of dyes show the excellent DSSCs' performance, due to their efficient light-to-photocurrent conversion in the region from 380 nm to 600 nm, with the highest IPCE values exceeding 90%. Through modification of the donor units, an efficiency as high as 7.5% has been achieved under standard light illumination (AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm−2) by the dye CC103.

Three organic dyes (LJ101, LJ102, and LJ103) with different π-bridges such as thiophene, 3-hexylthiophene and 3, 4-ethyldioxythiophene, were prepared and applied for the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The effect of the different π-bridges on the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs were studied with the aid of quantum chemical calculation and electrochemical-impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The introduction of π-bridges to construct dyes makes the absorption spectra red shift and enhances the molar extinction coefficient compared to the parent structure of TH305 without π-conjugated bridge. However, the increasing conjugation length of the molecules decreases the performance of DSSCs, due to the two reduced gaps: one is between the LUMO levels of dyes and the conduction band edge of TiO2, the other one is the energy gap between the HOMO levels of dyes and the redox potential of iodide/triiodide. The conversion efficiencies of DSSCs based on LJ series dyes ranged from 6.1 to 6.4%, which are lower than that of TH305 (7.5%).

A series of organic dyes with alkaline pyridine-N-oxide as the electron acceptor and anchoring group have been synthesized and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells. Photoelectrical data show a good coordination between pyridine-N-oxide and TiO2 films, which effectively guarantee the injection and adsorption of the dye molecules. With the simple WL102 dye, the best photon-to-electron conversion efficiency of 3.72% and an excellent IPCE value about 95% have been achieved under optimized conditions.

A new D-π-A organic dye HY102 with a lateral anchoring group and two reference dyes HY102-1 (using cyanoacrylic acid as an electron acceptor and the anchoring group) and HY102-2 (containing both cyanoacrylic acid and lateral carboxylic acid) have been synthesized. The optical and electrochemical test results from the three different styles of photosensitizers show that the excited electrons of the novel dye HY102 with lateral carboxylic acid group most probably are injected into the CB of TiO2 through the electron acceptor moiety close to the TiO2 surface by spatial transfer, not through the lateral anchoring group of the carboxylic acid. Research into the photo-induced electron transfer of the novel sensitizers with lateral anchoring system is reasonable and crucial for further improving efficiencies by modifying the molecular structures.

A new kind of hybrid electrolyte with S2−/Sx2− and I− was invented, and the new hybrid system was demonstrated to outperform the well-known I−/I3− redox system in DSCs. An efficiency of 9.1% was achieved in our lab under AM 1.5 illumination using the dye N719, considerably higher than the efficiency of 8.0% of the I−/I3−-based electrolyte.