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A significant increase in the photocurrent generation during light soaking for solar cells sensitized by the triphenylamine-based D-pi-A organic dyes (PD2 and LEG1) and mediated by cobalt bipyridine redox complexes has been observed and investigated. The crucial role of the electrolyte has been identified in the performance improvement. Control experiments based on a pretreatment strategy reveals TBP as the origin. The increase in the current and IPCE has been interpreted by the interfacial charge-transfer kinetics studies. A slow component in the injection kinetics was exposed for this system. This change explains the increase in the electron lifetime and collection efficiency. Photoelectron spectroscopic measurements show energy shifts at the dye/TiO2 interface, leading us to formulate a hypothesis with respect to an electrolyte induced dye reorganization at the surface., QC 20181003

Within this work, we emphasis on the importance of twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) process in organic dyes based on triphenyl amine moiety to achieve high performance in dye-sensitized solar cells. Through the comparison between two recent made dyes, Ll and L1Fc, on different semiconductors (TiO2, and ZrO2), we could spectrally and dynamically detect for the first time the formation of TICT state for Ll on ZrO2 after localized charge transfer (LCT) state population, and an electron injection process from TICT state on TiO2. However, for the excited L1Fc dye, the ultrafast electron transfer from ferrocene (Fc) moiety to the Ll unit quenched the formation of TICT state in L1Fc on semiconductors, leading instead to an electron injection process from the LCT state. The electron injection from TICT state in Ll associated with structural rearrangements on TiO2 leads to slow recombination process and an efficiency improvement of about 325%, compared to solar cells based on L1Fc dye, in which TICT state formation is hindered. Similar electron dynamics are obtained for Ll on TiO2 upon physically hindering the TICT process by adding polymer matrix. The presence of TICT state for Ll dye and similar triphenyl amine dyes aids to reconstruct the kinetic profile for these dyes on semiconductor surfaces, and to redesign organic dyes accordingly for higher efficiency in solar cells., QC 20181121

CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cells have rapidly risen to the forefront of emerging photovoltaic technologies. A solution-based, two-step method was reported to enhance the reproducibility of these solar cells. In this method, first a coating of PbI2 is applied by spin-coating onto a TiO2-coated substrate, followed by a dip in a methylammonium iodide solution, leading to conversion to CH3NH3PbI3. The concentration of PbI2 in the spin-coating solution is a very important factor that affects the infiltration of the perovskite and the amount deposited. The best solar cell performance of 13.9% was obtained by devices prepared using 1.0 M of PbI2 in dimethylformamide. These devices also had the longest electron lifetime and shortest carrier transport time, yielding lowest recombination losses. Rapid quenching of the perovskite emission is found in device-like structures, suggesting reasonably good efficient carrier extraction at the TiO2 interface and quantitative extraction at the spiro-OMeTAD interface.

Previous time-resolved measurements on D149, the most-studied dye of the indoline family, had shown a fast time-component of 20-40 ps that had tentatively been attributed to structural relaxation. Using femtosecond transient absorption, we have investigated the isolated indoline donor unit (i.e., without acceptor group) and found an ultrafast decay characterized by two lifetimes of 3.5 and 23 ps. Density functional theory calculations show p-bonding and p*-antibonding character of the central ethylene group for the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO and LUMO), respectively. The LUMO is localized on the flexible vinyl-diphenyl region of the donor unit and a twisting process is assumed to occur as a deactivation process for the excited molecule. This is confirmed by multireference second-order perturbation theory (CASSCF/CASPT2) calculations of the lowest-lying excited state, in which it is shown that torsion of the ethylene bond to 96 degrees and pyramidalization to ca. 100 degrees lead to a conical intersection with the ground state. Embedded in a plastic matrix, where double bond rotation is hindered, the decay is slowed down to nanoseconds. We have also investigated the dyes D102, D131, and D149, possessing the same indoline donor unit, by femtosecond transient absorption and found a similar decay component. The ca. 20 ps deactivation channel in D-family dyes is thus attributed to a twisting process of the donor unit. The fluorescence quantum yields of this unit and D149 were measured, and from comparison, the competition of the discovered twisting deactivation channel to the radiative decay of the excited indoline dyes could be confirmed. Blocking this deactivation channel is expected to further increase efficiency for the indoline dyes.

Organic solar cell dyes containing the most common anchoring group, cyanoacrylic acid, are shown to be photolabile and undergo photoisomerization. This may have significant consequences for dye-sensitized solar cells, as isomerisation competes with electron injection and leads to modifications of the dye and surface arrangement., QC 20140214

A two-step wet chemical synthesis method for methylammonium lead(II) triiodide (CH3NH3PbI3) perovskite is further developed for the preparation of highly reproducible solar cells, with the following structure: fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)/TiO2 (compact)/TiO2 (mesoporous)/CH3NH3PbI3/spiro-OMeTAD/Ag. The morphology of the perovskite layer could be controlled by careful variation of the processing conditions. Specifically, by modifying the drying process and inclusion of a dichloromethane treatment, more uniform films could be prepared, with longer emission lifetime in the perovskite material and longer electron lifetime in solar cell devices, as well as faster electron transport and enhanced charge collection at the selective contacts. Solar cell efficiencies up to 13.5% were obtained.

D149 is one of the best-performing metal-free, organic dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells. Excited state lifetimes strongly depend on the solvent used and have previously been reported to be between 100 and 700 ps, without any mechanistic explanation being given. We have earlier shown that photo-isomerization is one of several deactivation processes. Here, we report that lifetimes in certain solvents depend on concentration, even in very dilute (nanomolar) solutions. A detailed investigation of the concentration dependence enables us to assign a second, faster deactivation channel besides isomerization that reduces lifetimes further: a ground-state, hydrogen-bonded 1:1 complex of D149 with acids or interaction with protic solvents leads to excited state quenching, most probably through excited state proton transfer. This includes self-quenching caused by D149's own carboxylic group through intermolecular interaction, accounting for the concentration-dependent lifetimes. We are now able to dissect the complex excited state behavior into its components, allowing us to attribute rate constants to the isomerization and the excited-state proton transfer process. We are also able to explain the excited state of D149 in a wide range of environmental conditions, in the presence of acids/bases, at different concentrations as well as with varying temperatures. Furthermore, we determine the barrier for isomerization, a thermally activated process. The consequences of these effects on solar cells are discussed. Also we show that ultrafast techniques like femtosecond pump probe and upconversion inherently do not provide the required responsiveness for work with the concentration ranges required here, whereas single photon counting with its ultimate sensitivity is able to resolve the underlying processes.