Enhancing the stability of porphyrin dye-sensitized solar cells by manipulation of electrolyte additives

Abstract

The use of porphyrin-based photosensitizers with superior light-harvesting properties has enabled the power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) to reach 13 % under full sun illumination. However, a major limitation of such devices corresponds to the volatility of the solvent used so far for the electrolyte, which prevents practical applications. In this work, we describe a porphyrin-ionic liquid DSC, which not only affords the highest efficiency reported to date, but is also stable for more than 300 h under continuous full sun illumination at 60 °C. Furthermore, we identify a previously unreported pathway for device degradation, and show that the addition of N-methylbenzimidazole and a thiocyanate salt to the electrolyte is critical to obtaining long-lived devices.

Keywords: dye-sensitized solar cells; energy conversion; ionic liquids; porphyrinoids; stability.