NiMoV and NiO-based catalysts for efficient solar-driven water splitting using thermally integrated photovoltaics in a scalable approach.

In this work, a trimetallic NiMoV catalyst is developed for the hydrogen evolution reaction and characterized with respect to structure, valence, and elemental distribution. The overpotential to drive a 10 mA cm-2 current density is lowered from 94 to 78 mV versus reversible hydrogen electrode by introducing V into NiMo. A scalable stand-alone system for solar-driven water splitting was examined for a laboratory-scale device with 1.6 cm2 photovoltaic (PV) module area to an up-scaled device with 100 cm2 area. The NiMoV cathodic catalyst is combined with a NiO anode in alkaline electrolyzer unit thermally connected to synthesized (Ag,Cu) (In,Ga)Se2 ((A)CIGS) PV modules. Performance of 3- and 4-cell interconnected PV modules, electrolyzer, and hydrogen production of the PV electrolyzer are examined between 25°C and 50°C. The PV-electrolysis device having a 4-cell (A)CIGS under 100 mW cm-2 illumination and NiMoV-NiO electrolyzer shows 9.1% maximum and 8.5% averaged efficiency for 100 h operation.

Molecular degradation of D35 and K77 sensitizers when exposed to temperatures exceeding 100 °C investigated by photoelectron spectroscopy.

Degradation of the materials in dye-sensitized solar cells at elevated temperatures is critical for use in real applications. Both during fabrication of the solar cell and under real working conditions the solar cells will be exposed to heat. In this work, mesoporous TiO2 electrodes sensitized with the dyes D35 and K77 were subject to heat-treatment and the effects of this were thereafter investigated by photoelectron spectroscopy. For D35 it was found that heat-treatment changes the binding configuration inducing an increased interaction between the sulfur of the linker unit and the TiO2 surface. The interaction resulting from the change in binding configuration also affects the position of the HOMO level, where a shift of +0.2 eV is observed when heated to 200 °C. For K77, parts of the thiocyanate units are detached and the nitrogen atom leaves the electrode whereas sulfur remains on the surface in various forms of sulfurous oxides. The total dye coverage of K77 gets reduced by heat-treatment. The HOMO level gets progressively less pronounced due to a loss of HOMO level electrons as a consequence of the lower dye coverage when heat-treated, which leads to a lower excitation rate and lower efficiency. The results are discussed in the context of performance for dye-sensitized solar cells.

Geometrical and energetical structural changes in organic dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells probed using photoelectron spectroscopy and DFT.

The effects of alkoxy chain length in triarylamine based donor-acceptor organic dyes are investigated with respect to the electronic and molecular surface structures on the performance of solar cells and the electron lifetime. The dyes were investigated when adsorbed on TiO2 in a configuration that can be used for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Specifically, the two dyes D35 and D45 were compared using photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The differences in solar cell characteristics when longer alkoxy chains are introduced in the dye donor unit are attributed to geometrical changes in dye packing while only minor differences were observed in the electronic structure. A higher dye load was observed for D45 on TiO2. However, D35 based solar cells result in higher photocurrent although the dye load is lower. This is explained by different geometrical structures of the dyes on the surface.

Dipicolinic acid: a strong anchoring group with tunable redox and spectral behavior for stable dye-sensitized solar cells.

Dipicolinic acid was investigated as a new anchoring group for DSSCs. A pilot dye (PD2) bearing this new anchoring group was found to adsorb significantly stronger to TiO2 than its cyanoacrylic acid analogue. The electrolyte composition was found to have a strong effect on the photoelectrochemical properties of the adsorbed dye in the device, allowing the dye LUMO energy to be tuned by 0.5 eV. Using a pyridine-free electrolyte, panchromatic absorption of the dye on TiO2 extending to 900 nm has been achieved. Solar cells using PD2 and a Co(bpy)3 based electrolyte showed unique stability under simulated sunlight and elevated temperatures.

Enhancement of p-type dye-sensitized solar cell performance by supramolecular assembly of electron donor and acceptor.

Supramolecular interactions based on porphyrin and fullerene derivatives were successfully adopted to improve the photovoltaic performance of p-type dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) measurements suggest a change in binding configuration of ZnTCPP after co-sensitization with C60PPy, which could be ascribed to supramolecular interaction between ZnTCPP and C60PPy. The performance of the ZnTCPP/C60PPy-based p-type DSC has been increased by a factor of 4 in comparison with the DSC with the ZnTCPP alone. At 560 nm, the IPCE value of DSCs based on ZnTCPP/C60PPy was a factor of 10 greater than that generated by ZnTCPP-based DSCs. The influence of different electrolytes on charge extraction and electron lifetime was investigated and showed that the enhanced Voc from the Co(2+/3+)(dtbp)3-based device is due to the positive EF shift of NiO.

Electronic Structure of TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite Solar Cell Interfaces.

The electronic structure and chemical composition of efficient CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cell materials deposited onto mesoporous TiO2 were studied using photoelectron spectroscopy with hard X-rays. With this technique, it is possible to directly measure the occupied energy levels of the perovskite as well as the TiO2 buried beneath and thereby determine the energy level matching of the interface. The measurements of the valence levels were in good agreement with simulated density of states, and the investigation gives information on the character of the valence levels. We also show that two different deposition techniques give results indicating similar electronic structures.