article · ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Five new organic light-harvesting dyes were developed to enhance the power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitised solar cells. These dyes incorporate a fluorenyl molecular unit arranged either within the conjugated spacer or attached to an electron-deficient quinoxaline component. Testing of the resulting photovoltaic devices revealed that the dye designated as MA1116 delivered the highest performance under both standard sunlight and indoor dim-light conditions. Under full sunlight, devices using MA1116 achieved an efficiency of 8.68 percent, surpassing the standard N719 dye, and reached 26.81 percent efficiency under bright indoor illumination. The improved performance stems from better charge separation, reduced dye aggregation, and molecular insulation that shields the semiconductor surface from the liquid electrolyte mediator. These structural design choices demonstrate an effective route for optimising organic solar cell materials.
Dye-sensitised solar cells offer an alternative to conventional silicon panels, particularly for capturing ambient indoor light. By chemically tailoring the organic dyes that absorb photons, researchers can make these cells substantially more effective at converting both standard sunlight and dim artificial lighting into usable electricity, supporting the development of self-powered electronic systems.
The research applies directly to dye-sensitised solar cell manufacturing, offering candidate organic sensitising dyes for outdoor solar energy conversion and indoor ambient-light harvesting. Potential users include manufacturers of niche photovoltaics and indoor electronic sensors. At this stage, the technology represents early-stage, laboratory-tested materials where performance has been validated on fabricated experimental cells rather than scaled, commercially packaged modules.
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Structural engineering of the light-harvesting dyes employed in DSSCs (dye-sensitized solar cells) with a systematic choice of the electron-donating and -accepting groups as well as the π-bridge allows the (photo)physical properties of dyes to match the criteria needed for improving the DSSC efficiency. Herein, we report an effective approach of molecular engineering of DSSC sensitizers, aiming to gain insights on the configurational impact of the fluorenyl unit on the optoelectronic properties and photovoltaic performance of DSSCs. Five new organic dyes (GZ116, GZ126, GZ129, MA1116, and MA1118) with a D–A−π–A framework integrated with a fluorenyl moiety were designed and synthesized for DSSCs. The fluorenyl unit is configured as part of the π-spacer for the GZ series, whereas it connected on the electron-deficient quinoxaline motif for the MA series. The devices fabricated from the MA1116 sensitizer produced the best performance under standard AM 1.5 G solar conditions as well as dim-light (300–6000 lx) illumination. The devices fabricated from MA1116 displayed a PCE of 8.68% (Jsc = 15.00 mA cm–2, Voc = 0.82 V, and FF = 0.71) under 1 sun and 26.81% (Jsc = 0.93 mA cm–2, Voc = 0.68 V, and FF = 0.76) under 6000 lx illumination. The device efficiency based on dye MA1116 under 1 sun outperformed that based on the standard N719 dye, whereas a comparable performance between devices based on MA1116 and N719 was achieved under dim-light conditions. A combination of enhancing the charge separation, suppressing dye aggregation, and providing better insulation that prevents the oxidized redox mediator from approaching the TiO2 surface all contribute to the superior performance of DSSCs fabricated based on these light-harvesting dyes. The judicious integration of the fluorenyl unit in a D–A−π–A-based DSSC would be a promising strategy to boost the device performance.
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DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c00559
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