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Triphenylimidazole Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells for Efficient Solar and Artificial Light Conversion using Iodide/Triiodide Redox Electrolyte

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Abstract

Though metal complex-based redox couples showed promising results in test cell devices of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), it hampers the scale-up of modules/panels due to mass transport and recombination issues. Copper (II/I) redox couple-based DSSCs have dispensed exceptional results at diffused/artificial indoor light conditions as potential candidates for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Recently, our group have reported triphenylimidazole based metal-free organic dyes (LG-P series) with [Cu(tmby)2]2+/+ (tmby = 4,4′,6,6′-tetramethyl-2,2′-bipyridine) redox couple realizing device efficiency of ~10% under low-light conditions. In the present study, we extended the work using iodide-triiodide (I−/I3−) redox couple with LG-P series of sensitizers and measured the device efficiencies under both full sun (100 mW/cm2) and low-light conditions (1000 lux indoor illumination). Under full sun condition, LG-P3 has delivered a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.15%, whereas at 1000 lux daylight, LED LG-P1 showed a PCE of 10.53%, and at 1000 lux daylight CFL LG-P3 showed PCE of 9.19%, which we observed with I−/I3− redox electrolyte. We have adopted charge extraction (CE), open-circuit voltage decay (OCVD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to explain the efficiency differences in LG-P series of dyes.

Graphical abstract

Mass transport and recombination are two hurdles for metal complex-based redox couples for dye-sensitized solar cells. We have fabricated DSSC devices using triphenylimidazole-based organic dyes with I−/I3− redox electrolyte and measured its device efficiency under full sun and artificial/indoor light conditions and the potential for the Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

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Acknowledgments

S.S. acknowledges financial support from DST-CRG (CRG/2020/001406), CSIR-FIRST (MLP 65) and DST-SERB [DST/SERB/F/481] projects. PSG thanks to CSIR for a research fellowship. We thank the Director CSIR-IICT for support (IICT/Pubs./2022/128).

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Author notes

  1. Palivela Siva Gangadhar and Anooja Jagadeesh contributed equally to the paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polymer and Functional Materials Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, 500007, Telangana, India

    Palivela Siva Gangadhar & Lingamallu Giribabu

  2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India

    Palivela Siva Gangadhar, Anooja Jagadeesh, Andrew Simon George, Suraj Soman & Lingamallu Giribabu

  3. Photosciences and Photonics Section, Chemical Sciences and Technology Division, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, 695019, India

    Anooja Jagadeesh, Andrew Simon George & Suraj Soman

Authors
  1. Palivela Siva Gangadhar
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  2. Anooja Jagadeesh
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  4. Suraj Soman
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  5. Lingamallu Giribabu
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Correspondence to Suraj Soman or Lingamallu Giribabu.

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Gangadhar, P.S., Jagadeesh, A., George, A.S. et al. Triphenylimidazole Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells for Efficient Solar and Artificial Light Conversion using Iodide/Triiodide Redox Electrolyte. J Chem Sci 134, 91 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12039-022-02088-4

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