DOCSLIB.ORG

The Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Database

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Database Venkatraman et al. J Cheminform (2018) 10:18 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13321-018-0272-0 DATABASE Open Access The dye‑sensitized solar cell database Vishwesh Venkatraman*, Rajesh Raju, Solon P. Oikonomopoulos and Bjørn K. Alsberg Abstract Background: Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have garnered a lot of attention in recent years. The solar energy to power conversion efciency of a DSSC is infuenced by various components of the cell such as the dye, electrolyte, electrodes and additives among others leading to varying experimental confgurations. A large number of metal- based and metal-free dye sensitizers have now been reported and tools using such data to indicate new directions for design and development are on the rise. Description: DSSCDB, the frst of its kind dye-sensitized solar cell database, aims to provide users with up-to-date information from publications on the molecular structures of the dyes, experimental details and reported measure- ments (efciencies and spectral properties) and thereby facilitate a comprehensive and critical evaluation of the data. Currently, the DSSCDB contains over 4000 experimental observations spanning multiple dye classes such as tripheny- lamines, carbazoles, coumarins, phenothiazines, ruthenium and porphyrins. Conclusion: The DSSCDB ofers a web-based, comprehensive source of property data for dye sensitized solar cells. Access to the database is available through the following URL: www.dyedb.com. Keywords: Dye sensitized solar cells, Database Background electrons from the dye difuse (fow of current) through With renewable energy-based systems gaining momen- the semiconductor and move on to the back collecting tum, there has been intense focus on harnessing energy electrode. Dye regeneration takes place through electron from the sun while making it useable and cost-efective. donation from the electrolyte aided by the catalyst in the Solar cell technologies that convert sunlight into elec- counter electrode. Te modular architecture of the DSSC tricity include those based on silicon, polymer, quan- thus enables functions such as electron transport, light tum dots, dye-sensitized and more recently, perovskites. absorption and hole transport to be handled separately Among these dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) also [1, 2]. known as Grätzel cells have received a lot of attention [1, Although DSSC efciencies have been improving, the 2]. In recent years, this feld has seen a dramatic increase pace of these improvements has been somewhat slow, ∼ 6% in published research. An ISI Web of Knowledge search with an increase of only [3] from a value of 7.1% for the term “dye-sensitized solar cells” yielded more than in 1991 [4]. Te variations in the power conversion ef- 18,000 articles spanning years 1991–2017 (see Fig. 1) with ciencies (PCE) for diferent DSSCs can be attributed to a signifcant proportion published in the last 5–10 years. changes in the cell architecture and fabrication [5–8]. Te DSSC typically consists of a monolayer of a pho- While a signifcant amount of these eforts have been tosensitive dye that is adsorbed on a mesoporous oxide devoted to molecular engineering of the dye sensitizer layer (such as TiO2, ZnO or SnO2) that is deposited on [9–13], others have focused on the optimization of the a transparent conductive glass substrate, a redox elec- electrodes [14, 15] and electrolytes [16–18] along with trolyte (iodide or cobalt-based) and a platinized counter factors such as the concentrations of the solvent baths electrode. On excitation (absorption of incoming light), during sensitization [19], and the size and thickness of photoanodes [8, 20, 21]. Te DSSC efciency is infuenced by a number of com- *Correspondence: [email protected] Department of Chemistry, NTNU, Høgskoleringen, 7491 Trondheim, ponents/parameters. Other than the dye one can add a Norway cosensitizer to account for the higher wavelength regions, © The Author(s) 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Venkatraman et al. J Cheminform (2018) 10:18 Page 2 of 9 2500 2000 1500 # Publications 1000 500 0 19911993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017 Fig. 1 Literature growth of dye sensitized solar cells. The graph was produced by performing a Web of Science search for the keywords “dye sensitized solar cells” and restricting the search to articles in English. In addition subject areas such as mechanics, toxicology, pharmacology and educational research were also excluded to yield around 18445 records use agents like chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) to reduce demand for methodologies that can accelerate the design aggregation and also change the electrolyte from iodide of molecular materials with tailored properties, chemin- to cobalt which has often resulted in increased PCEs. formatics (or materials informatics) based frameworks Other factors such as the dye bath and concentrations for high-throughput screening of candidate structures also have an impact on the PCEs. Modifcations to the have been proposed: dyes [25], solid state metal oxide structure of the dye sensitizer in particular have been photovoltaic cells [26] and organic photovoltaics [27, 28]. found to be the most widely applied method to improve With a view to understanding how structural/chemical device efciencies. Given that, by introducing system- modifcations impact the solar cell performances, recent atic variations of the substituent groups in the dye can eforts have focused on creating quantitative structure improve the light harvesting and electron injection capa- property relationships [26, 29–36] that establish a mathe- bilities among other properties, various classes of dyes matical relationship between various molecular structure (metal-free and inorganic-based) have been investigated descriptors and a solar cell property of interest such as ranging from coumarins, carbazoles, indolines, tripheny- the PCE. Te models produced in this process have been lamines [10], phenothiazines [9], fulvalenes [22] to ruthe- further used to direct the search for promising dyes/ nium [23] and porphyrin-based [24] sensitizers. photvoltaic materials that satisfy desirable criteria [26, Dye materials discovery has been largely based on ser- 37–39]. Informatics approaches have also been recently endipity or iterative chemical substitution. Given the Venkatraman et al. J Cheminform (2018) 10:18 Page 3 of 9 applied to the identifcation of suitable photocathode 14. Dye class: to indicate the type of the donors or spe- materials [40] and solid state electrolytes [41]. cifc chemical groups in order to enable a keyword- Recently, a number of data repositories such as the based search. Materials Project [42], Khazana [43], the Harvard Organic Photovoltaic Dataset [44], and the Open Spec- Te database is centred around 4 main tables (see tral Database [45] have emerged that facilitate the dis- Fig. 2) refecting the aforementioned details. During the covery of qualitative/quantitative rules, which can be data collection, articles without a valid DOI and those used to guide materials design. Here, we report the Dye with incomplete performance data were excluded. Te Sensitized Solar Cell Database (DSSCDB) consisting of 2D structures of the dyes were drawn using various experimental results compiled from the literature. Te molecular drawing software. For cases where the chemi- database is intended as a central repository for sharing cal names were available, the SMILES formats were gen- photovoltaic performance related data and should be of erated using OPSIN [46], failing which the structures broad interest to scientists in photovoltaics, quantum were drawn by hand. Corresponding InChi keys were chemistry, chemometrics and related disciplines. Search then generated using OpenBabel [47, 48]. Images of the tools have been implemented with both text and struc- structures have been generated using the Indigo Toolkit ture-based functionalities. [49]. Te web interface has been designed using the Django 1.10 MVC framework (https://www.djangopro- Description and utility ject.com) and connected to a PostgresSQL [50] database Information regarding the dyes was manually retrieved and hosted on the Amazon Cloud Platform. Te package from journal articles obtained using keyword (“dye sen- manager Conda 4.3.6 (https://www.conda.io) was used sitized solar cells”, “triphenylamines” etc.) searches on the to include RD-Kit 2017.03.1 [51] and PyBel [52] support. ISI Web of Knowledge. For each dye, the following data Te Docker platform (https://www.docker.com/) was has been recorded: additionally used to facilitate continuous development and ease of deployment. 1. DOI: the digital object identifer for the referenced article Search and retrieval Voc 2. Performance parameters: open circuit voltage2 ( in Te entire database can downloaded as a csv fle which mV), short circuit current (Jsc in mA/cm ), fll factor contains SMILES, InChi, performance data, experimen- (FF), power conversion efciency (PCE)
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A HISTORY of the SOLAR CELL, in PATENTS Karthik Kumar, Ph.D
    A HISTORY OF THE SOLAR CELL, IN PATENTS Karthik Kumar, Ph.D., Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP 901 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001 [email protected] Member, Artificial Intelligence & Other Emerging Technologies Committee Intellectual Property Owners Association 1501 M St. N.W., Suite 1150, Washington, D.C. 20005 [email protected] Introduction Solar cell technology has seen exponential growth over the last two decades. It has evolved from serving small-scale niche applications to being considered a mainstream energy source. For example, worldwide solar photovoltaic capacity had grown to 512 Gigawatts by the end of 2018 (representing 27% growth from 2017)1. In 1956, solar panels cost roughly $300 per watt. By 1975, that figure had dropped to just over $100 a watt. Today, a solar panel can cost as little as $0.50 a watt. Several countries are edging towards double-digit contribution to their electricity needs from solar technology, a trend that by most accounts is forecast to continue into the foreseeable future. This exponential adoption has been made possible by 180 years of continuing technological innovation in this industry. Aided by patent protection, this centuries-long technological innovation has steadily improved solar energy conversion efficiency while lowering volume production costs. That history is also littered with the names of some of the foremost scientists and engineers to walk this earth. In this article, we review that history, as captured in the patents filed contemporaneously with the technological innovation. 1 Wiki-Solar, Utility-scale solar in 2018: Still growing thanks to Australia and other later entrants, https://wiki-solar.org/library/public/190314_Utility-scale_solar_in_2018.pdf (Mar.
    [Show full text]
  • Demonstrating Solar Conversion Using Natural Dye Sensitizers
    Demonstrating Solar Conversion Using Natural Dye Sensitizers Subject Area(s) Science & Technology, Physical Science, Environmental Science, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry Associated Unit Renewable Energy Lesson Title Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) Grade Level (11th-12th) Time Required 3 hours / 3 day lab Summary Students will analyze the use of solar energy, explore future trends in solar, and demonstrate electron transfer by constructing a dye-sensitized solar cell using vegetable and fruit products. Students will analyze how energy is measured and test power output from their solar cells. Engineering Connection and Tennessee Careers An important aspect of building solar technology is the study of the type of materials that conduct electricity and understanding the reason why they conduct electricity. Within the TN-SCORE program Chemical Engineers, Biologist, Physicist, and Chemists are working together to provide innovative ways for sustainable improvements in solar energy technologies. The lab for this lesson is designed so that students apply their scientific discoveries in solar design. Students will explore how designing efficient and cost effective solar panels and fuel cells will respond to the social, political, and economic needs of society today. Teachers can use the Metropolitan Policy Program Guide “Sizing The Clean Economy: State of Tennessee” for information on Clean Economy Job Growth, TN Clean Economy Profile, and Clean Economy Employers. www.brookings.edu/metro/clean_economy.aspx Keywords Photosynthesis, power, electricity, renewable energy, solar cells, photovoltaic (PV), chlorophyll, dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) Page 1 of 10 Next Generation Science Standards HS.ESS-Climate Change and Human Sustainability HS.PS-Chemical Reactions, Energy, Forces and Energy, and Nuclear Processes HS.ETS-Engineering Design HS.ETS-ETSS- Links Among Engineering, Technology, Science, and Society Pre-Requisite Knowledge Vocabulary: Catalyst- A substance that increases the rate of reaction without being consumed in the reaction.
    [Show full text]
  • Thin Film Cdte Photovoltaics and the U.S. Energy Transition in 2020
    Thin Film CdTe Photovoltaics and the U.S. Energy Transition in 2020 QESST Engineering Research Center Arizona State University Massachusetts Institute of Technology Clark A. Miller, Ian Marius Peters, Shivam Zaveri TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary .............................................................................................. 9 I - The Place of Solar Energy in a Low-Carbon Energy Transition ...................... 12 A - The Contribution of Photovoltaic Solar Energy to the Energy Transition .. 14 B - Transition Scenarios .................................................................................. 16 I.B.1 - Decarbonizing California ................................................................... 16 I.B.2 - 100% Renewables in Australia ......................................................... 17 II - PV Performance ............................................................................................. 20 A - Technology Roadmap ................................................................................. 21 II.A.1 - Efficiency ........................................................................................... 22 II.A.2 - Module Cost ...................................................................................... 27 II.A.3 - Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) ....................................................... 29 II.A.4 - Energy Payback Time ........................................................................ 32 B - Hot and Humid Climates ...........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • I OPTIMIZATION of ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS a DISSERTATION
    OPTIMIZATION OF ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND THE COMMITTEE ON GRADUATE STUDIES OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Seung Bum Rim March 2010 i © 2010 by Seung Bum Rim. All Rights Reserved. Re-distributed by Stanford University under license with the author. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial 3.0 United States License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/ This dissertation is online at: http://purl.stanford.edu/yx656fs6181 ii I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Peter Peumans, Primary Adviser I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Michael McGehee I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Philip Wong Approved for the Stanford University Committee on Graduate Studies. Patricia J. Gumport, Vice Provost Graduate Education This signature page was generated electronically upon submission of this dissertation in electronic format. An original signed hard copy of the signature page is on file in University Archives. iii Abstract Organic solar cell is a promising technology because the versatility of organic materials in terms of the tunability of their electrical and optical properties and because of their relative insensitivity to film imperfections which potentially allows for very low-cost high-throughput roll-to-roll processing.
    [Show full text]
  • Fabrication Procedure of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
    Fabrication procedure of dye-sensitized solar cells K.Takechi, R.Muszynski and P.V.Kamat Materials - ITO(Indium doped Tin Oxide) glass (2 x 2 cm, 2 slides for 1 cell) - Dye (Eosin Y, Eosin B, etc.) - Ethanol - TiO2 paste ¾ Suspend 3.5g of TiO2 nano-powder P25 in 15ml of ethanol. ¾ Sonicate it at least for 30 min. ¾ Add 0.5ml of titanium(IV) tetraisopropoxide into the suspension. ¾ Mix until the suspension is uniform. (D.S. Zhang, T. Yoshida, T. Oekermann, K. Furuta, H. Minoura, Adv. Functional Mater., 16, 1228(2006).) - Spacer ¾ Cut a plastic film (like as Parafilm or Scotch tape) having dimensions of 1.5 cm by 2 cm. ¾ Make a hole(s) on the film. 2 cm (Example) 1 cm 1.5 cm Hole 0.6 cm - Liquid electrolyte ¾ 0.5M lithium iodide and 0.05M iodine in acetonitrile. γ-Butyrolactone or 3-methoxypropionitrile is also recommended as a solvent to improve its volatility. - Binder clips (small, 2 pieces for 1 cell) Tools - Hot plate - Pipets - Tweezers - Spatulas - Scotch tape 1. Put Scotch tape on the conducting side of ITO glass. about 10 mm 2. Put TiO2 paste and flatten it with a razor blade on the same side of the ITO glass. 3. Put this electrode on top of a hot plate and heat it at approximately 150 °C for 10 min. 4. Prepare a dye solution. (Ex. 20mL of 1 mM eosin Y in ethanol) Eosin Y Eosin B Eosin B in ethanol (Mw=691.85) (Mw=624.06) 5. Dip the TiO2 electrode into the dye solution for 10 min.
    [Show full text]
  • National Survey Report of PV Power Applications in Sweden 2015
    National Survey Report of PV Power Applications in Sweden 2015 Prepared by Johan Lindahl Table of contents Table of contents .................................................................................................................. 1 Foreword ............................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 4 1 Installation data .................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Applications for Photovoltaics ................................................................................. 5 1.2 Total photovoltaic power installed .......................................................................... 5 1.2.1 Method ........................................................................................................ 5 1.2.2 The Swedish PV market ............................................................................... 5 1.2.3 Swedish PV market segments ..................................................................... 9 1.2.4 The geographical distribution of PV in Sweden .......................................... 10 1.2.5 PV in the broader Swedish energy market .................................................. 12 2 Competitiveness of PV electricity ......................................................................................... 13 2.1 Module
    [Show full text]
  • Solar PV Technology Development Report 2020
    EUR 30504 EN This publication is a Technical report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking process. The scientific output expressed does not imply a policy position of the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use that might be made of this publication. For information on the methodology and quality underlying the data used in this publication for which the source is neither Eurostat nor other Commission services, users should contact the referenced source. The designations employed and the presentation of material on the maps do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the European Union concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Contact information Name: Nigel TAYLOR Address: European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy Email: [email protected] Name: Maria GETSIOU Address: European Commission DG Research and Innovation, Brussels, Belgium Email: [email protected] EU Science Hub https://ec.europa.eu/jrc JRC123157 EUR 30504 EN ISSN 2600-0466 PDF ISBN 978-92-76-27274-8 doi:10.2760/827685 ISSN 1831-9424 (online collection) ISSN 2600-0458 Print ISBN 978-92-76-27275-5 doi:10.2760/215293 ISSN 1018-5593 (print collection) Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020 © European Union, 2020 The reuse policy of the European Commission is implemented by the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p.
    [Show full text]
  • Review of the Development of Thermophotovoltaics
    International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056 Volume: 06 Issue: 04 | Apr 2019 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072 REVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THERMOPHOTOVOLTAICS Surya Narrayanan Muthukumar1, Krishnar Raja2, Sagar Mahadik3, Ashwini Thokal4 1,2,3UG Student, Department of Chemical Engineering, Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Engineering, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra India 4Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Engineering, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra India ---------------------------------------------------------------------------***--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abstract:- Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems have 2. PRINCIPLE slowly started gaining traction in the global sustainable energy generation realm. It was earlier believed to be a To understand the working principle of TPVs, let us break flawed method whose energy conversion efficiency was not down the term into three parts: Thermo (meaning Heat), high enough for commercial use. However, in recent times, Photo (meaning Light) and Voltaic (meaning Electricity research has picked up, addressing the need of increasing produced by chemical action). Thus, a Thermophotovoltaic the energy conversion efficiency while making it system uses light to heat up a thermal emitter, which in economically viable for commercial applications. This paper turn emits radiation (Infrared) on a photovoltaic (PV) will throw light on the various advancements in the field of diode to produce electricity. Conventional photovoltaics TPV systems and investigate the potential avenues where exploit only the visible band of solar rays for electricity TPVs may be used in the future. We will also be looking at generation. The visible band contains less than half the the history of development of TPVs so that we may be aware total radiation of solar energy.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of Solar
    Solar technology isn’t new. Its history spans from the 7th Century B.C. to today. We started out concentrating the sun’s heat with glass and mirrors to light fires. Today, we have everything from solar-powered buildings to solar- powered vehicles. Here you can learn more about the milestones in the Byron Stafford, historical development of solar technology, century by NREL / PIX10730 Byron Stafford, century, and year by year. You can also glimpse the future. NREL / PIX05370 This timeline lists the milestones in the historical development of solar technology from the 7th Century B.C. to the 1200s A.D. 7th Century B.C. Magnifying glass used to concentrate sun’s rays to make fire and to burn ants. 3rd Century B.C. Courtesy of Greeks and Romans use burning mirrors to light torches for religious purposes. New Vision Technologies, Inc./ Images ©2000 NVTech.com 2nd Century B.C. As early as 212 BC, the Greek scientist, Archimedes, used the reflective properties of bronze shields to focus sunlight and to set fire to wooden ships from the Roman Empire which were besieging Syracuse. (Although no proof of such a feat exists, the Greek navy recreated the experiment in 1973 and successfully set fire to a wooden boat at a distance of 50 meters.) 20 A.D. Chinese document use of burning mirrors to light torches for religious purposes. 1st to 4th Century A.D. The famous Roman bathhouses in the first to fourth centuries A.D. had large south facing windows to let in the sun’s warmth.
    [Show full text]
  • Organic Tandem Solar Cells: Design and Formation
    UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Organic Tandem Solar Cells: Design and Formation Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5s129177 Author Chen, Chun-Chao Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Organic Tandem Solar Cells: Design and Formation A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering by Chun-Chao Chen 2015 © Copyright by Chun-Chao Chen 2015 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Organic Tandem Solar Cells: Design and Formation by Chun-Chao Chen Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering University of California, Los Angeles, 2015 Professor Yang Yang, Chair In the past decade, research on organic solar cells has gone through an important development stage leading to major enhancements in power conversion efficiency, from 4% to 9% in single-junction devices. During this period, there are many novel processing techniques and device designs that have been proposed and adapted in organic solar-cell devices. One well- known device architecture that helps maximize the solar cell efficiency is the multi-junction tandem solar-cell design. Given this design, multiple photoactive absorbers as subcells are stacked in a monolithic fashion and assembled via series connection into one complete device, known as the tandem solar cell. Since multiple absorbers with different optical energy bandgaps are being applied in one tandem solar-cell device, the corresponding solar cell efficiency is maximized through expanded absorption spectrum and reduced carrier thermalization loss. ii In Chapter 3, the architecture of solution-processible, visibly transparent solar cells is introduced.
    [Show full text]
  • Polymeric Materials for Conversion of Electromagnetic Waves from the Sun to Electric Power
    polymers Review Polymeric Materials for Conversion of Electromagnetic Waves from the Sun to Electric Power SK Manirul Haque 1, Jorge Alfredo Ardila-Rey 2, Yunusa Umar 1 ID , Habibur Rahman 3, Abdullahi Abubakar Mas’ud 4,*, Firdaus Muhammad-Sukki 5 ID and Ricardo Albarracín 6 ID 1 Department of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology, Jubail Industrial College, P.O. Box 10099, Jubail 31961, Saudi Arabia; [email protected] (S.M.H.); [email protected] (Y.U.) 2 Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Santiago de Chile 8940000, Chile; [email protected] 3 Department of General Studies, Jubail Industrial College, P.O. Box 10099, Jubail 31961, Saudi Arabia; [email protected] 4 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Jubail Industrial College, P.O. Box 10099, Jubail 319261, Saudi Arabia 5 School of Engineering, Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen AB10 7QB, Scotland, UK; [email protected] 6 Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica, Automática y Física Aplicada, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería y Diseño Industrial, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ronda de Valencia 3, 28012 Madrid, Spain; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +966-53-813-8814 Received: 10 February 2018; Accepted: 6 March 2018; Published: 12 March 2018 Abstract: Solar photoelectric energy converted into electricity requires large surface areas with incident light and flexible materials to capture these light emissions. Currently, sunlight rays are converted to electrical energy using silicon polymeric material with efficiency up to 22%. The majority of the energy is lost during conversion due to an energy gap between sunlight photons and polymer energy transformation.
    [Show full text]
  • An Efficient Descriptor Model for Designing Materials for Solar Cells
    www.nature.com/npjcompumats All rights reserved 2057-3960/15 ARTICLE OPEN An efficient descriptor model for designing materials for solar cells Fahhad H Alharbi1,2, Sergey N Rashkeev2, Fedwa El-Mellouhi2, Hans P Lüthi3, Nouar Tabet1,2 and Sabre Kais1,2 An efficient descriptor model for fast screening of potential materials for solar cell applications is presented. It works for both excitonic and non-excitonic solar cells materials, and in addition to the energy gap it includes the absorption spectrum (α(E)) of the material. The charge transport properties of the explored materials are modelled using the characteristic diffusion length (Ld) determined for the respective family of compounds. The presented model surpasses the widely used Scharber model developed for bulk heterojunction solar cells. Using published experimental data, we show that the presented model is more accurate in predicting the achievable efficiencies. To model both excitonic and non-excitonic systems, two different sets of parameters are used to account for the different modes of operation. The analysis of the presented descriptor model clearly shows the benefitof including α(E) and Ld in view of improved screening results. npj Computational Materials (2015) 1, 15003; doi:10.1038/npjcompumats.2015.3; published online 25 November 2015 INTRODUCTION open-circuit voltage (Voc) is assumed to be a fixed reduction of Eg There has been a remarkable thrust towards developing cost- defined (by the Scharber model) as the difference between the effective photovoltaics in the past two decades.1–5 Different highest occupied molecular orbital of the donor and the lowest materials and device concepts have been deployed and the unoccupied molecular orbital of the acceptor.
    [Show full text]