Photon-to-current conversion efficiency

With the D S SCs containing Hibiscus surattensis extract, the best performances were probably obtained because of the large amount of dye adsorbed on Ti02 (lxl cm2 active surface) in comparison with the other extracts from tropical flowers. Incident photon to current conversion efficiency (IPCE) values of 76% were calculated (2 — 590 nm). Jsc was 5.45 mAcm-2, Voc = 392mV, FF — 54%, and efficiency = 1.14%. Also, the stability of the photovoltaic devices was the best in the case of Hibiscus surattensis, even though it needs to be improved to achieve real long-term stability, especially as far as the sealing quality is concerned. 

The incident monochromatic photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE), also called external quantum efficiency, is defined as the number of electrons generated by light in the external circuit divided by the number of incident photons as a function of excitation wavelength. It is expressed in Equation (7).29 In most cases, the photoaction spectrum overlaps with the absorption spectrum of the sensitizer adsorbed on the semiconductor surface. A high IPCE is a prerequisite for high-power photovoltaic applications, which depends on the sensitizer photon absorption, excited state electron injection, and electron transport to the terminals ... 

Figure 17 Photocurrent action spectra of bare nanocrystalline Ti02 film, and the sensitizers (1), (22), (24), and (57) adsorbed on Ti02 films. The incident photon to current conversion efficiency is plotted as a...

Figure 20 Incident photon to current conversion efficiency of a nanocrystalline Ti02 cell sensitized by dye...

The overall process performance, as measured by photon efficiency (number of incident photon per molecule reacted, like the incident photon to current conversion efficiency, or IPCE, for PV cells), depends on the chain from the light absorption to acceptor/donor reduction/oxidation, and results from the relative kinetic of the recombination processes and interfacial electron transfer [23, 28]. Essentially, control over the rate of carrier crossing the interface, relative to the rates at which carriers recombine, is fundamental in obtaining the control over the efficiency of a photocatalyst. To suppress bulk- and surface-mediated recombination processes an efficient separation mechanism of the photogenerated carrier should be active. 

A very useful parameter for evaluating the performance of a photoelectrolysis cell is the incident photon to current conversion efficiency (IPCE). This is a measure of the effectiveness in converting photons incident on the cell to photocurrent flowing between the working and counter electrodes. IPCE is also called the external quantum efficiency. 

An analogous behavior extends to other species having small reorganization energies and appropriate potentials such as the iron(II) complexes Fe(DMB)32 + and Fe(DTB)32 + (Ey2 0.95 V versus SCE). When used in the presence of an excess of Co(DTB)32 + and in conjunction with suitable sensitizers like the heteroleptic dye Ru(dnbpy)(H2DCB)22+ (Em = 1.25 V versus SCE) (Fig. 17.28), the iron(II) comediators clearly enhance the performance of the Co(DTB)32+ and outperform the I /I3 redox couple, at least in terms of monochromatic photon to current conversion efficiency, with maximum values close to 85%. 

Photovoltaic performance of the DSSC is described as follows Figure 8 shows the external spectral response curve of the photocurrent for nanocrystalline Ti02 solar cells sensitized by N3 and black dyes with the I /If redox mediator, where the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) is represented as a function of wavelength. IPCE is obtained by the following equation ... 

Bach et al. have successfully introduced the concept of a solid p-type semiconductor (heterojunction), with the amorphous organic hole-transport material 2,2, 7,7 -tetrakis (, V, V-di-/ -methoxyphcnyl-aminc)9,9 -spirobifluorenc [96]. This hole-conducting material allows the regeneration of the sensitizers after electron injection due to its hole-transport properties. Nevertheless, the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiencies using complex 22 as a charge-transfer sensitizer... 

IPCE Incident monochromatic photon-to-current conversion efficiency... 

The incident monochromatic photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) is plotted as a function of excitation wavelength. The IPCE value in the plateau region is 80% for complex 2, while for complex 25 it is only about 66%. In the red region, the difference is even more pronounced. Thus, at 700 nm the IPCE value is twice as high for the fully protonated complex 2 as compared to the deprotonated complex 25. As a consequence, the short circuit photocurrent is 18-19 mAcrn-2 for complex 2, while it is only about 12-13 mA cm-2 for complex 25. However, there is a trade-off in photovoltage, which is 0.9 V for complex 25, as compared to 0.65 V for complex 2. Nevertheless, this is insufficient to compensate for the current loss. Hence, the... 

The photoelectrochemical properties of different semiconductor materials have been widely reported, for single crystal, polycrystalline, as well as for nanostructured materials. In the literature various methods for measuring the efficiency are found. The most common is the JPCE (incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency) or quantum efficiency, which is defined as... 

Photosystem I. The quantity of photocurrent varied with the type and age of electrode as is evident from the data in Table I. Some freshly made Ti02 electrodes generated low currents even in the absence of PSI. The incident photon to current conversion efficiency, defined as the number of electrons injected by the excited sensitizer (and recorded as photocurrent) divided by the number of incident photons, was calculated from the equation ... 

The dependence of the photosensitization efficiency upon the excitation wavelength has also been observed in a photoelectrochemical cell based on Ti02 sensitized by Fe (dcbpy)2(CN)2 complex [62], The absorption band selective photon-to-current conversion efficiency measured in this case suggested that charge injection into the semiconductor is occurring via an ultra-shortlived upper excited state of the dye. 

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