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Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Electrospinning of Photocatalytic Electrodes for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells
Published on: June 28, 2017
Improving the efficiency of copper-dye-sensitized solar cells by manipulating the electrolyte solution
Alessia Colombo1, Claudia Dragonetti1, Francesco Fagnani2
1Dipartimento di Chimica dell'Università degli Studi di Milano, UdR-INSTM, via Golgi 19, I-20133, Milano, Italy. claudia.dragonetti@unimi.it and ISTM-CNR and SmartMatLab dell'Università degli Studi di Milano, via Golgi 19, I-20133, Milano, Italy.
Abstract:
The use of a copper(i) dye, bearing a 2,9-dimesityl-1,10-phenanthroline and a 6,6'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine-4,4'-dibenzoic acid, was investigated in DSSCs with various electrolyte solutions based on two different redox mediators, namely the common I-/I3- couple and an interesting copper electron shuttle. The experimental results provide evidence of the importance of the redox mediator concentration and the crucial role of additives such as 4-tert-butylpyridine and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide in the performance of sustainable "full-copper" DSSCs, consolidating the way to DSSCs with Earth-abundant components.
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