• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.1647-1653
• /
• 2014

9,10-Bis(bromomethyl)phenanthrene reacted with fullerenes via a Diels-Alder reaction to give phenanthrene-substituted fullerene mono-adducts (PCMA) and bis-adducts (PCBA) as electron acceptors for organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs). The syntheses of the fullerene derivatives were confirmed by $^1H$ $^{13}C$ NMR spectroscopy and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. PCMA and PCBA showed better light absorption in the UV-visible region than $PC_{61}BM$. Their electrochemical properties were measured using cyclic voltammetry. Accordingly, the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels of PCMA and PCBA were -3.66 and -3.57 eV, respectively. Photovoltaic cells were fabricated with a ITO/PEDOT:PSS/poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT):acceptor/LiF/Al configuration, where P3HT and PCBA are the electron donors and acceptors, respectively. The polymer solar cell fabricated using the P3HT:PCBA active layer showed a maximum power conversion efficiency of 0.71%.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.18-25
• /
• 2017

In this review, I have summarized the solar water splitting research based on the organic metal halide perovskite material, which has recently been spotlighted worldwide. Significantly, to date, recent reports have been categorized as photovoltaic-electrolyzer configuration and integrated photoelectrolysis. Research in this field is still in its early stages, and it is necessary to develop an effective protection film and manufacture a high-voltage tandem cell in the future.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.1 no.2
• /
• pp.69-74
• /
• 2010

Methodologies to improve photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) are reviewed. DSSC is usually composed of a dye-adsorbed $TiO_2$ photoanode, a tri-iodide/iodide redox electrolyte and a Pt counter electrode. Among the photovoltaic parameters of short-circuit photocurrent density, open-circuit voltage and fill factor, short-circuit photocurrent density is the collective measure of light harvesting, charge separation and charge collection efficiencies. Internal quantum efficiency is known to reach almost 100%, which indicates that charge separation occurs without loss by recombination. Thus, light harvesting efficiency plays an important role in improvement of photocurrent. In this paper, technologies to improve light harvesting efficiency, including surface area improvement by nano-dispersion, size-dependent light scattering efficiency, bi-functional nano material, panchromatic absorption by selective positioning of three different dyes and transparent conductive oxide (TCO)-less DSSC, are introduced.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.68-75
• /
• 2011

In this review, we have investigated the effect of $TiO_2$-based blocking layers (t-BLs), deposited on a transparent conductive oxide (TCO)-coated glass substrate, on the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The t-BL was deposited using spin-coating or sputtering technique, and its thicknesses were varied to study the influence of the thin $TiO_2$ layer in between transparent conducting glass and nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ (nc-$TiO_2$). The DSSC with the t-BL showed the improved adhesion and the suppressed charge recombination at a TCO glass substrate than those without the t-BL, which led to the higher conversion efficiency.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.289-296
• /
• 2014

Here, we have studied the effect of water added electrolyte on the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). It was found that open-circuit voltage ($V_{oc}$) increased and short-circuit current density ($j_{sc}$) decreased with the increase of the amount of added water in the electrolyte of the DSSCs. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) study showed that the electrolyte with added water shifted the dye loaded $TiO_2$ conduction band upward that eventually increased $V_{oc}$ of the cells. On the other hand, the upward shift of $TiO_2$ conduction band decreased the driving force for the electron injection from the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the dye molecules to the conduction band of $TiO_2$ that resulted in decreased $j_{sc}$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2009.06a
• /
• pp.440-440
• /
• 2009

Semiconductor nanowires offer exciting possibilities as components of solar cells and have already found applications as active elements in organic, dye-sensitized, quantum-dot sensitized, liquid-junction, and inorganic solid-state devices. Among many semiconductors, silicon is by far the dominant material used for worldwide photovoltaic energy conversion and solar cell manufacture. For silicon wire to be used for solar device, well aligned wire arrays need to be fabricated vertically or horizontally. Macroscopic silicon wire arrays suitable for photovoltaic applications have been commonly grown by the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process using metal catalysts such as Au, Ni, Pt, Cu. In the case, the impurity issues inside wire originated from metal catalyst are inevitable, leading to lowering the efficiency of solar cell. To escape from the problem, the wires of purity of wafer are the best for high efficiency of photovoltaic device. The fabrication of wire arrays by the electrochemical etching of silicon wafer with photolithography can solve the contamination of metal catalyst. In this presentation, we introduce silicon wire arrays by electrochemical etching method and then fabrication methods of radial p-n junction wire array solar cell and the various merits compared with conventional silicon solar cells.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2010.06a
• /
• pp.73.2-73.2
• /
• 2010

Polymer solar cells (PSCs) have attracted considerable academic and commercial interest because of their unique advantages, such as the facile manufacture of low cost, flexibility, lightweight, and solution processibility. Recently, high-performance polymer solar cells made from a mixture of poly(2,7-carbazole) derivatives, PCDTBT, and [6,6]-phenyl C71 butyric acid methyl ester (PC70BM) have been reported, with maximum power conversion efficiency of 6.1%. In this work, we report new novel copolymers based on poly(2,7-carbazole) derivatives with a suite of electron-deficient moieties or electron-rich units. We systematically investigated the synthesis, thermal stability, as well as the optical and electrochemical properties of these polymers. Detailed synthetic scheme, optical, electrochemical, and photovoltaic properties of the copolymers will be presented.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.118-125
• /
• 2018

Herein we report on the selective synthesis and direct growth of nanostructures using an aqueous chemical growth route. Specifically, Al-doped ZnO (AZO) nanoflakes (NFs) are vertically grown on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheets at low temperature and ambient environment. The morphological, optical, and electrical properties of the NFs are investigated as a function of the Al content. Furthermore, these AZO-NFs are integrated into perovskite solar devices as the electron transport layer (ETL) and the fabricated devices are tested for photovoltaic performance. It was determined that the doping of AZO-NFs significantly increases the performance metrics of the solar cells, mainly by increasing the short-circuit current of the devices. The observed enhancement is primarily attributed to the improved conductivity of the doped AZO-NF, which facilitates charge separation and reduces recombination. Further, our flexible solar cells fabricated through this low temperature process demonstrate an acceptable reproducibility and stability when exposed to a mechanical bending test.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2011.05a
• /
• pp.7.2-7.2
• /
• 2011

Photoelectrochemical solar cells such as dye-sensitized cells (DSSCs), which exhibit high performance and are cost-effective, provide an alternative to conventional p-n junction photovoltaic devices. However, the efficiency of such cells plateaus at 11~12%, in contrast to their theoretical value of 33%. The majority of research has focused on improving energy conversion efficiency of DSSC by controlling nanostructure and exploiting new materials in photoelectrode consisting of semiconducting oxide nanoparticles and a transparent conducting oxide electrode (TCO). In this presentation, we introduce monodisperesed TiO2 nanoparticles prepared by forced hydrolysis method and their superiority as photoelectrode materials was characterized with aids of optical and electrochemical analysis. Inverse opal-based scattering layers containing highly crystalline anatase nanoparticles are also introduced and their feasibility for use as bi-functional light scattering layer is discussed in terms of optical reflectance and charge generation properties as a function of optical wavelength.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.68-71
• /
• 2012

The electrospinning technique is a revolutionary template-catalyst-free method that can generate 1D nanostructure with the tunability and the potential for the mass production. This approach received a great deal of attention due to its ability to give direct pathways for electrical current and has been utilized in various electronic applications. However, the delamination of inorganic electrospun film has prevented the intense utilization due to the thermal expansion/contraction during the calcination. In this study, we propose an electrical grounding method for transparent conducting oxide and electrospun nanowires to enhance the adhesion after the calcination. Then, we examined the potential of the technique on ZnO based dye-sensitized solar cells.