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Muñoz-García AB, Benesperi I, Boschloo G, Concepcion JJ, Delcamp JH, Gibson EA, Meyer GJ, Pavone M, Pettersson H, Hagfeldt A, Freitag M. Dye-sensitized solar cells strike back. Chem Soc Rev 2021; 50:12450-12550. [PMID: 34590638 PMCID: PMC8591630 DOI: 10.1039/d0cs01336f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) are celebrating their 30th birthday and they are attracting a wealth of research efforts aimed at unleashing their full potential. In recent years, DSCs and dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells (DSPECs) have experienced a renaissance as the best technology for several niche applications that take advantage of DSCs' unique combination of properties: at low cost, they are composed of non-toxic materials, are colorful, transparent, and very efficient in low light conditions. This review summarizes the advancements in the field over the last decade, encompassing all aspects of the DSC technology: theoretical studies, characterization techniques, materials, applications as solar cells and as drivers for the synthesis of solar fuels, and commercialization efforts from various companies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Belén Muñoz-García
- Department of Physics "Ettore Pancini", University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy
| | - Iacopo Benesperi
- School of Natural and Environmental Science, Newcastle University, Bedson Building, NE1 7RU Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
| | - Gerrit Boschloo
- Department of Chemistry, Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 523, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Javier J Concepcion
- Chemistry Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA
| | - Jared H Delcamp
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Gibson
- School of Natural and Environmental Science, Newcastle University, Bedson Building, NE1 7RU Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
| | - Gerald J Meyer
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - Michele Pavone
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy
| | | | - Anders Hagfeldt
- Department of Chemistry, Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 523, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden.
- University Management and Management Council, Vice Chancellor, Uppsala University, Segerstedthuset, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Marina Freitag
- School of Natural and Environmental Science, Newcastle University, Bedson Building, NE1 7RU Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
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Torres A, Prado LR, Bortolini G, Rego LGC. Charge Transfer Driven Structural Relaxation in a Push-Pull Azobenzene Dye-Semiconductor Complex. J Phys Chem Lett 2018; 9:5926-5933. [PMID: 30257563 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b02490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Photoexcited structural dynamics in azo-compounds may differ fundamentally whether the push-pull photochromic azo-compound is isolated or forms a heterogeneous charge transfer complex, due to a sudden oxidation of the chromophore. Herein, we use a quantum-classical self-consistent approach that incorporates nonadiabatic excited-state electronic quantum dynamics into molecular mechanics to study the photoexcited dynamics of the push-pull azo-compound para-Methyl Red in the gas phase and sensitizing the (101) anatase surface of TiO2. We find that the photoinduced S2/S0 trans-to- cis isomerization of para-Methyl Red in the gas phase occurs through a pedal-like torsion around the ϕCNNC dihedral angle, without evidence to support the inversion mechanism, likewise in the parent azobenzene molecule. However, the photoexcited structural relaxation of the charge transfer complex para-Methyl Red/TiO2 contrasts essentially with the isolated azo-compounds. Immediately after photoexcitation, the excited electron flows into the TiO2 conduction band, with an injection time constant of ≃5 fs, and no indication of isomerization is observed during the 1.5 ps simulations. Instead, a strong vibronic relaxation occurs that excites the NN stretching mode of the azo-group, which is ultimately ascribed to the NA relaxation, and delocalization, of the hole wavepacket.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Torres
- Department of Physics , Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina , Florianópolis , SC 88040-900 , Brazil
| | - Luciano R Prado
- Department of Physics , Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina , Florianópolis , SC 88040-900 , Brazil
| | - Graziele Bortolini
- Department of Physics , Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina , Florianópolis , SC 88040-900 , Brazil
| | - Luis G C Rego
- Department of Physics , Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina , Florianópolis , SC 88040-900 , Brazil
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Brown AM, McCusker CE, Carey MC, Blanco-Rodríguez AM, Towrie M, Clark IP, Vlček A, McCusker JK. Vibrational Relaxation and Redistribution Dynamics in Ruthenium(II) Polypyridyl-Based Charge-Transfer Excited States: A Combined Ultrafast Electronic and Infrared Absorption Study. J Phys Chem A 2018; 122:7941-7953. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.8b06197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Allison M. Brown
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Catherine E. McCusker
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Monica C. Carey
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Ana Maria Blanco-Rodríguez
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Towrie
- Central Laser Facility, Research Complex at Harwell, STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - Ian P. Clark
- Central Laser Facility, Research Complex at Harwell, STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - Antonín Vlček
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom
- J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Dolejskova 3, CZ-182 23 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - James K. McCusker
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
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