Characterization of N, N′-bis-2-(1-hydoxy-4-methylpentyl)-3, 4, 9, 10-perylene bis (dicarboximide) sensitized nanocrystalline TiO2 solar cells with polythiophene hole conductors

We have fabricated solid-state, dye-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO2 solar cells (DSSC) based on perylene derivative dye, N,N′-bis-2-(1-hydoxy-4-methylpentyl)-3,4,9,10-perylene bis (dicarboximide) (HMPER) with two different polythiophenes as hole conductors; i.e. poly (3-octyl thiophene) (P3OT) and poly (3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT), respectively. HMPER adsorbs strongly to the surface of nanocrystalline TiO2 and inject electrons into TiO2 conduction band upon absorption of light. Polythiophene derivatives are well-known materials as hole conductors in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells. We obtained quite similar results with P3OT and P3HT yielding a short-circuit current density of around 80 μA/cm2 and open-circuit voltage of around 0.7 V at 80 mW/cm2 AM 1.5 light intensity. The results are compared with Ru-535 TBA-sensitized nc-TiO2 cells prepared by using the same polythiophene derivatives.