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Pore Filling of Spiro-OMeTAD in Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Determined Via Optical Reflectometry

Docampo, P; Hey, A; Guldin, S; Gunning, R; Steiner, U; Snaith, HJ; (2012) Pore Filling of Spiro-OMeTAD in Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Determined Via Optical Reflectometry. Advanced Functional Materials , 22 , Article 23. 10.1002/adfm.201201223. Green open access

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Abstract

A simple strategy is presented to determine the pore-filling fraction of the hole-conductor 2,2-7,7-tetrakis-N,N-di-pmethoxyphenylamine-9,9-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) into mesoporous photoanodes in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (ss-DSCs). Based on refractive index determination by the film’s reflectance spectra and using effective medium approximations the volume fractions of the constituent materials can be extracted, hence the pore-filling fraction quantified. This non-destructive method can be used with complete films and does not require detailed model assumptions. Pore-filling fractions of up to 80% are estimated for optimized solid-state DSC photoanodes, which is higher than that previously estimated by indirect methods. Additionally, transport and recombination lifetimes as a function of the pore-filling fraction are determined using photovoltage and photocurrent decay measurements. While extended electron lifetimes are observed with increasing pore-filling fractions, no trend is found in the transport kinetics. The data suggest that a pore-filling fraction of greater than 60% is necessary to achieve optimized performance in ss-DSCs. This degree of pore-filling is even achieved in 5 mu m thick mesoporous photoanodes. It is concluded that pore-filling is not a limiting factor in the fabrication of “thick” ss-DSCs with spiro-OMeTAD as the hole-conductor.

Type: Article
Title: Pore Filling of Spiro-OMeTAD in Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Determined Via Optical Reflectometry
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201201223
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201201223
Language: English
Additional information: This project was part funded by EPSRC First Grant Scheme EP/F065884/1 and European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no 246124 of the SANS project. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Docampo, P et al(2012) Pore Filling of Spiro-OMeTAD in Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Determined Via Optical Reflectometry. Advanced Functional Materials , 22 , Article 23., which has been published in final form at 10.1002/adfm.201201223. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1446961
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