Efficiency improvement in solid-state-dye-sensitized photovoltaics with an amphiphilic Ruthenium-dye

Abstract

We report a solid-state-dye-sensitized solar cell with an efficiency of 4% over the standard air mass 1.5 spectrum $(100\mathrm{mW}∕{\mathrm{cm}}^2)$ . This was made possible by using an amphiphilic dye with hydrophobic spacers. We attribute the performance to the self-assembly of the dye to a dense layer on the ${\mathrm{TiO}}_2$ surface with its carboxylate groups as anchors and with its hydrophobic isolating chains as blocking layer between hole conductor and ${\mathrm{TiO}}_2$ . In addition we studied the dependence of the thickness of the nanoporous ${\mathrm{TiO}}_2$ layer and the device performance. These results show the high potential for solid-state-dye-sensitized solar cells to compete with amorphous silicon cells as low-cost alternative.