Regensburg 2010 – scientific programme

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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 29: Poster: Molecular Spintronics, Biomolecular and Functional Organic Layers, Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics, Plasmonics and Nanophotonics, Organic Thin Films, Nanoengineered Thin Films, Thin Film Characterisation,

DS 29.28: Poster

Wednesday, March 24, 2010, 15:00–17:30, Poster A

Optimized Adsorption of Sulfonated Phthalocyanines on ZnO Electrodes and Their Characterization in Dye- Sensitized Solar Cells — •Jane Falgenhauer, Thomas Loewenstein, and Derck Schlettwein — Institute of Applied Physics, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany. email:schlettwein@uni-giessen.de

Phthalocyanines belong to the most stable industrial dyes and show some of the highest molar extinction coefficients in the visible range. ZnO is known as a wide band gap semiconductor material which can be conveniently prepared as a porous electrode from solution-based processes. Sulfonated phthalocyanines were adsorbed at such electrodeposited porous ZnO thin films to work as a photosensitizer in a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The adsorption solution of the phthalocyanine was modified in its composition and by adding different detergents in different concentrations. The adsorption solutions and the sensitized ZnO films were investigated by UV/Vis spectroscopy to characterize the aggregation of the dye molecules. Most of the detergents used could minimize the aggregation of the dye molecules in the adsorption solution without hindering the adsorption of the phthalocyanine on the ZnO surface. The photoelectrochemical characteristics of the resulting test cells were determined using a standard liquid electrolyte. The efficiency of the cells did not reach the expected level and reasons for this are discussed based on film morphology, amount of adsorbed dye molecules, competition by detergent adsorption, the optical absorbance of the dyes in the film and aggregate formation.