Hydroxamate Anchors for Improved Photoconversion in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

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• 作者：Timothy P. Brewster ; Steven J. Konezny ; Stafford W. Sheehan ; Lauren A. Martini ; Charles A. Schmuttenmaer ; Victor S. Batista ; Robert H. Crabtree
• 刊名：Inorganic Chemistry
• 出版年：2013
• 出版时间：June 3, 2013
• 年：2013
• 卷：52
• 期：11
• 页码：6752-6764
• 全文大小：637K
• 年卷期：v.52,no.11(June 3, 2013)
• ISSN：1520-510X

文摘

We present the first analysis of performance of hydroxamate linkers as compared to carboxylate and phosphonate groups when anchoring ruthenium-polypyridyl dyes to TiO₂ surfaces in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The study provides fundamental insight into structure/function relationships that are critical for cell performance. Our DSSCs have been produced by using newly synthesized dye molecules and characterized by combining measurements and simulations of experimental current density鈥搗oltage (J-V) characteristic curves. We show that the choice of anchoring group has a direct effect on the overall sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency (畏), with hydroxamate anchors showing the best performance. Solar cells based on the pyridyl-hydroxamate complex exhibit higher efficiency since they suppress electron transfer from the photoanode to the electrolyte and have superior photoinjection characteristics. These findings suggest that hydroxamate anchoring groups should be particularly valuable in DSSCs and photocatalytic applications based on molecular adsorbates covalently bound to semiconductor surfaces. In contrast, analogous acetylacetonate anchors might undergo decomposition under similar conditions suggesting limited potential in future applications.