Molecular Weight Effects of Biscarbazole-Based Hole Transport Polymers on the Performance of Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Minseon Kong; Kyeong Seok Kim; Nguyen Van Nga; Yeonju Lee; Yu Seong Jeon; Yunsung Cho; Younghwan Kwon; Yoon Soo Han

doi:10.3390/nano10122516

Molecular Weight Effects of Biscarbazole-Based Hole Transport Polymers on the Performance of Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2020 Dec 15;10(12):2516. doi: 10.3390/nano10122516.

Authors

Minseon Kong¹, Kyeong Seok Kim¹, Nguyen Van Nga², Yeonju Lee¹, Yu Seong Jeon¹, Yunsung Cho³, Younghwan Kwon², Yoon Soo Han¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, Daegu Catholic University, Gyeongbuk 38430, Korea.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, Daegu University, Gyeongbuk 38435, Korea.
³ School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Daegu Catholic University, Gyeongbuk 38430, Korea.

Abstract

The leakage and volatilization of liquid electrolytes limit the commercialization of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). As solid-state (ss) hole-transporting materials, free from leakage and volatilization, biscarbazole-based polymers with different molecular weights (PBCzA-H (21,200 g/mol) and PBCzA-L (2450 g/mol)) were applied in combination with additives to produce ssDSCs. An ssDSC with PBCzA-H showed a better short-circuit current (J_sc), open-circuit voltage (V_oc), and fill factor (FF) than a device with PBCzA-L, resulting in 38% higher conversion efficiency. Compared to the PBCzA-L, the PBCzA-H with a higher molecular weight showed faster hole mobility and larger conductivity, leading to elevations in J_sc via rapid hole transport, V_oc via rapid hole extraction, and FF via lowered series and elevated shunt resistances. Thus, it is believed that PBCzA-H is a useful candidate for replacing liquid electrolytes.

Keywords: biscarbazole; hole mobility; hole-transporting material; solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell.

Abstract

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