Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell with Integrated Triplet-Triplet Annihilation Upconversion System

J Phys Chem Lett. 2013 Jun 20;4(12):2073-8. doi: 10.1021/jz401050u. Epub 2013 Jun 11.

Abstract

Photon upconversion (UC) by triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA-UC) is employed in order to enhance the response of solar cells to sub-bandgap light. Here, we present the first report of an integrated photovoltaic device, combining a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) and TTA-UC system. The integrated device displays enhanced current under sub-bandgap illumination, resulting in a figure of merit (FoM) under low concentration (3 suns), which is competitive with the best values recorded to date for nonintegrated systems. Thus, we demonstrate both the compatibility of DSC and TTA-UC and a viable method for device integration.

Keywords: DSC; efficiency; figure of merit; photochemical upconversion; solar cell; sub-bandgap excitation.