Dye-sensitized solar cells using a chlorophyll a derivative as the sensitizer and carotenoids having different conjugation lengths as redox spacers

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2005.04.067
• Publication Date: 2005-05-18T11:58:45Z
• Authors: Xiao-Feng Wang; Junfeng Xiang; Peng Wang; Yasushi Koyama; Shozo Yanagida; Yuji Wada; Kazunori Hamada; Shin-ichi Sasaki; Hitoshi Tamiaki
• Keywords: Derivative (finance)

Abstract Titania-based Gratzel-type solar cells were fabricated by the use of a chlorophyll a derivative (methyl 3-carboxy-3-devinyl-pyropheophorobide a ) as the dye sensitizer. A 10% each of carotenoids, including neurosporene, spheroidene, lycopene, anhydrorhodovibrin and spirilloxanthin with numbers of conjugated double bonds, n = 9–13, was added as a conjugated spacer in order to neutralize the dye radical cation and to block the reverse electron transfer. The short-circuit current density ( J sc ) and the solar energy-to-electricity conversion efficiency ( η ) systematically increased, with increasing n , from the values of 10.1 mA cm −2 and 3.1% (with no carotenoid) up to 11.5 mA cm −2 and 4.0% (with spirilloxanthin, n = 13), i.e., an enhancement of ≈30%.