title: High excitation transfer efficiency from energy relay dyes in dye-sensitized solar cells.
abstract: The energy relay dye, 4-(Dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran (DCM), was used with a near-infrared sensitizing dye, TT1, to increase the overall power conversion efficiency of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) from 3.5% to 4.5%. The unattached DCM dyes exhibit an average excitation transfer efficiency (ETE) of 96% inside TT1-covered, mesostructured TiO(2) films. Further performance increases were limited by the solubility of DCM in an acetonitrile based electrolyte. This demonstration shows that energy relay dyes can be efficiently implemented in optimized dye-sensitized solar cells, but also highlights the need to design highly soluble energy relay dyes with high molar extinction coefficients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Brian E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Hardin
authors.forename: Jun-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Yum
authors.forename: Eric T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Hoke
authors.forename: Young Chul
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Péchy
authors.forename: Tomás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Mark L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Brongersma
authors.forename: Md Khaja
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Nazeeruddin
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grätzel
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: McGehee