Copper Complexes with Tetradentate Ligands for Enhanced Charge Transport in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Michaels, Hannes; Benesperi, Iacopo; Edvinsson, Tomas; Muñoz-Garcia, Ana Belén; Pavone, Michele; Boschloo, Gerrit; Freitag, Marina

doi:10.3390/inorganics6020053

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Correction published on 29 October 2019, see Inorganics 2019, 7(11), 130.

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Copper Complexes with Tetradentate Ligands for Enhanced Charge Transport in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Hannes Michaels

¹,

Iacopo Benesperi

Tomas Edvinsson

²,

Ana Belén Muñoz-Garcia

³,

Michele Pavone

⁴,

Gerrit Boschloo

and

Marina Freitag

^1,*

Department of Chemistry, Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 523, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden

Department of Solid-state Physics, Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 534, SE-75121 Uppsala, Sweden

Department of Physics “Ettore Pancini”, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy

⁴

Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Inorganics 2018, 6(2), 53; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/inorganics6020053

Received: 28 April 2018 / Revised: 12 May 2018 / Accepted: 16 May 2018 / Published: 21 May 2018

(This article belongs to the Collection Coordination Complexes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSCs))

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Abstract

In dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), the redox mediator is responsible for the regeneration of the oxidized dye and for the hole transport towards the cathode. Here, we introduce new copper complexes with tetradentate 6,6′-bis(4-(S)-isopropyl-2-oxazolinyl)-2,2′-bipyridine ligands, Cu(oxabpy), as redox mediators. Copper coordination complexes with a square-planar geometry show low reorganization energies and thus introduce smaller losses in photovoltage. Slow recombination kinetics of excited electrons between the TiO₂ and Cu^II(oxabpy) species lead to an exceptionally long electron lifetime, a high Fermi level in the TiO₂, and a high photovoltage of 920 mV with photocurrents of 10 mA∙cm⁻² and 6.2% power conversion efficiency. Meanwhile, a large driving force remains for the dye regeneration of the Y123 dye with high efficiencies. The square-planar Cu(oxabpy) complexes yield viscous gel-like solutions. The unique charge transport characteristics are attributed to a superposition of diffusion and electronic conduction. An enhancement in charge transport performance of 70% despite the higher viscosity is observed upon comparison of Cu(oxabpy) to the previously reported Cu(tmby)₂ redox electrolyte. View Full-Text

Keywords: dye-sensitized solar cell; solar cell; copper complex; redox mediator; electrolyte; tetradentate

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Michaels, H.; Benesperi, I.; Edvinsson, T.; Muñoz-Garcia, A.B.; Pavone, M.; Boschloo, G.; Freitag, M. Copper Complexes with Tetradentate Ligands for Enhanced Charge Transport in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. Inorganics 2018, 6, 53. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/inorganics6020053

AMA Style

Michaels H, Benesperi I, Edvinsson T, Muñoz-Garcia AB, Pavone M, Boschloo G, Freitag M. Copper Complexes with Tetradentate Ligands for Enhanced Charge Transport in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. Inorganics. 2018; 6(2):53. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/inorganics6020053

Chicago/Turabian Style

Michaels, Hannes, Iacopo Benesperi, Tomas Edvinsson, Ana B. Muñoz-Garcia, Michele Pavone, Gerrit Boschloo, and Marina Freitag. 2018. "Copper Complexes with Tetradentate Ligands for Enhanced Charge Transport in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells" Inorganics 6, no. 2: 53. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/inorganics6020053

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Copper Complexes with Tetradentate Ligands for Enhanced Charge Transport in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

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