Halogen Bonding Promotes Higher Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Photovoltages.

We report here an enhancement in photovoltage for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) where halogen-bonding interactions exist between a nucleophilic electrolyte species (I(-)) and a photo-oxidized dye immobilized on a TiO2 surface. The triarylamine-based dyes under investigation showed larger rate constants for dye regeneration (kreg) by the nucleophilic electrolyte species when heavier halogen substituents were positioned on the dye. The open-circuit voltages (VOC) tracked these kreg values. This analysis of a homologous series of dyes that differ only in the identity of two halogen substituents provides compelling evidence that the DSSC photovoltage is sensitive to kreg. This study also provides the first direct evidence that halogen-bonding interactions between the dye and the electrolyte can bolster DSSC performance.

Evidence for Interfacial Halogen Bonding.

A homologous series of donor-π-acceptor dyes was synthesized, differing only in the identity of the halogen substituents about the triphenylamine (TPA; donor) portion of each molecule. Each Dye-X (X=F, Cl, Br, and I) was immobilized on a TiO2 surface to investigate how the halogen substituents affect the reaction between the light-induced charge-separated state, TiO2 (e(-) )/Dye-X(+) , with iodide in solution. Transient absorption spectroscopy showed progressively faster reactivity towards nucleophilic iodide with more polarizable halogen substituents: Dye-F < Dye-Cl < Dye-Br < Dye-I. Given that all other structural and electronic properties for the series are held at parity, with the exception of an increasingly larger electropositive σ-hole on the heavier halogens, the differences in dye regeneration kinetics for Dye-Cl, Dye-Br, and Dye-I are ascribed to the extent of halogen bonding with the nucleophilic solution species.