Dendrimers for photon harvesting in organic and organic/inorganic hybrid solar cells

Byeong-Kwan An; Benjamin Langley; Paul Burn; Paul Meredith

doi:10.1117/12.825689

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9 October 2009 Dendrimers for photon harvesting in organic and organic/inorganic hybrid solar cells

Byeong-Kwan An, Benjamin Langley, Paul Burn, Paul Meredith

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Proceedings Volume 7416, Organic Photovoltaics X; 74160A (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.825689
Event: SPIE Photonic Devices + Applications, 2009, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Dendrimers are branched macromolecules in which multiple functions can be engineered into a single entity. Highly efficient dendrimer-based solution processed organic light emitting diodes have been demonstrated, but to date, there have been fewer reports of their use in organic photovoltaics. In our paper we describe a new family of dendritic light harvesting molecules based upon ruthenium-centered charge transfer complexes specifically designed for use in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). These materials possess enhanced thermal and solution stability, reduced aggregation, and light harvesting efficiencies similar to the gold standard N3 ruthenium complex. We also describe a new method for measuring dye uptake in-situ and show that the adsorption kinetics of the dendritic molecules onto nanoporous titanium dioxide (the photoanode) obeys pseudo 2nd order kinetics with chemisorption being the rate determining step. This architectural approach allows simultaneous tuning of several key molecular properties for light harvesting and may point the way towards higher efficiency organic solar cell materials.

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Byeong-Kwan An, Benjamin Langley, Paul Burn, and Paul Meredith "Dendrimers for photon harvesting in organic and organic/inorganic hybrid solar cells", Proc. SPIE 7416, Organic Photovoltaics X, 74160A (9 October 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.825689

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