Issue 10, 2014

Melt-infiltration of spiro-OMeTAD and thermal instability of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

A method for achieving complete pore-filling in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells termed melt-infiltration is presented: after the customary solution-processed deposition of spiro-OMeTAD, the device is heated above the glass transition temperature of spiro-OMeTAD to soften the material and allow capillary action to pull additional spiro-OMeTAD from the overlayer reservoir into the pores. The pore-filling fraction increases from 60–65% to 90–100% as a result of melt-infiltration. The organic D–π–A dye used in this study is found to withstand the thermal treatment without performance loss, unlike ruthenium-based dyes. Through our experiments, we find that the 4-tert-butylpyridine (tBP) additive, commonly used in dye-sensitized solar cells, evaporates from the device during heat treatment at temperatures as low as 85 °C. This significantly impacts device performance, potentially excluding its use in commercial applications, and demonstrates the need for a more thermally stable tBP alternative. Melt-infiltration is expected to be a viable method for achieving complete pore-filling in systems where volatile additives are not required for operation.

Graphical abstract: Melt-infiltration of spiro-OMeTAD and thermal instability of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 Oct 2013
Accepted
10 Jan 2014
First published
16 Jan 2014

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014,16, 4864-4870

Melt-infiltration of spiro-OMeTAD and thermal instability of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

C. D. Bailie, E. L. Unger, S. M. Zakeeruddin, M. Grätzel and M. D. McGehee, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, 16, 4864 DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00116H

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