Solid-state organic/inorganic hybrid solar cells based on conjugated polymers and dye-sensitized TiO2 electrodes

Several efforts on using a dye-sensitized TiO2 nanocrystalline solar cell (nc-DSC) by replacing the liquid electrolyte with a solid-state analogy (by either a polymer electrolyte or a hole conducting material) intend to eliminate practical problems with sealing and degradation. Polymeric materials that behave as hole conductors are of practical interest as replacements for the liquid electrolyte, since they are inexpensive and can be tailored chemically to fit a wide range of purposes. In this report, all solid-state organic/inorganic hybrid dye-sensitized solar cells were fabricated based on a bi- and tri-layer device concept using a transparent nanocrystalline TiO2 layer as the electron acceptor and transport layer, a surface-adsorbed RuL2(NCS)/TBA (2:2) dye complex for light absorption and electron injection to the conduction band of TiO2. and conjugated polymers as for the transport of holes to the back contact electrode. Comparative results of I-V characteristics, energy or power conversion efficiencies, as well as the surface network morphology of these films by atomic force microscope (AFM) will be discussed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V All rights reserved.