Performance Characterization of Dye-Sensitized Photovoltaics under Indoor Lighting.

Indoor utilization of emerging photovoltaics is promising; however, efficiency characterization under room lighting is challenging. We report the first round-robin interlaboratory study of performance measurement for dye-sensitized photovoltaics (cells and mini-modules) and one silicon solar cell under a fluorescent dim light. Among 15 research groups, the relative deviation in power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the samples reaches an unprecedented 152%. On the basis of the comprehensive results, the gap between photometry and radiometry measurements and the response of devices to the dim illumination are identified as critical obstacles to the correct PCE. Therefore, we use an illuminometer as a prime standard with a spectroradiometer to quantify the intensity of indoor lighting and adopt the reverse-biased current-voltage (I-V) characteristics as an indicator to qualify the I-V sampling time for dye-sensitized photovoltaics. The recommendations can brighten the prospects of emerging photovoltaics for indoor applications.

Eugenic metal-free sensitizers with double anchors for high performance dye-sensitized solar cells.

A series of new phenothiazine-based dyes (HL5-HL7) with double acceptors/anchors have been synthesized and used as the sensitizers for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Among them, the HL7-based cell exhibits the best efficiency of 8.32% exceeding the N719-based cell (7.35%) by ∼13%.