Acceptor-sensitizers for Nanostructured Oxide Semiconductor in Excitonic Solar Cells

• Main Author: Berhe, Seare Ahferom
• Other Authors: Youngblood, W. Justin
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of North Texas 2014
• Subjects: solar cells; energy; devices; Metal oxide semiconductors.; Nanostructured materials.; Solar cells.
• Online Access: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc699927/

Organic dyes are examined in photoelectrochemical systems wherein they engage in thermal (rather than photoexcited) electron donation into metal oxide semiconductors. These studies are intended to elucidate fundamental parameters of electron transfer in photoelectrochemical cells. Development of novel methods for the structure/property tuning of electroactive dyes and the preparation of nanostructured semiconductors have also been discovered in the course of the presented work. Acceptor sensitized polymer oxide solar cell devices were assembled and the impact of the acceptor dyes were studied. The optoelectronic tuning of boron-chelated azadipyrromethene dyes has been explored by the substitution of carbon substituents in place of fluoride atoms at boron. Stability of singlet exited state and level of reduction potential of these series of aza-BODIPY coumpounds were studied in order to employ them as electron-accepting sensitizers in solid state dye sensitized solar cells.