To explain experimentally measured internal relaxation in dye and quantum dot sensitized solar cells we employ a microscopic theory based on a density matrix equation with a Markovian relaxation term. The computational results are in favor of the fast relaxation inside the unoccupied and occupied bands rather than slow interband electron-hole recombination. The difference in experimental dependencies for ZTO (zinc-tin-oxides) nanorods and nanoparticles is explained by the difference in the electron transfer matrix elements, and therefore, the electron transfer injection constants for the different morphologies  of the photoanodes. The Markovian approach is analyzed in terms of Kadanoff-Baym equations for nonequilibrium Green's functions where e-e correlated dynamics are included. It is shown that for some values of the parameters the Markovian approximation can overestimate the electric current as much as one order of magnitude.

Fast electron dynamics in QD sensitized solar cells: Two approaches

246th National Meeting (2013)

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