The effect of dye coverage on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells with a cobalt-based electrolyte

The effect of dye coverage of the mesoporous TiO2 electrode on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on the cobalt tris(bipyridine) electrolyte and the D35 dye was studied in detail. The dye coverage was controlled by using a dye bath with different dye concentrations and containing an inert salt, LiClO4, which was found to promote equilibrium conditions in the dye adsorption process. The amount of adsorbed D35 dye on mesoporous TiO2 was reasonably fit using the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, with a binding constant of 55 000 M(-1). Upon increasing the dye coverage on the TiO2 electrode, the electron lifetime in the dye-sensitized solar cell increased remarkably, demonstrating the blocking behavior of the D35 dye at the TiO2-electrolyte interface. Consequently, the solar cell efficiency increased dramatically with the D35 dye coverage.