Photon upconversion—combining two or more low energy photons to generate a higher energy excited state—is an intriguing strategy for increasing the maximum theoretical solar cell efficiencies from 33% to greater than 43%. Recently we demonstrated that self-assembled bilayers of sensitizer and acceptor molecules is an effective strategy for harnessing photon upconversion via triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA-UC) in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) even at sub solar irradiance. Unlike traditional DSSCs, the long lived triplet state of both the sensitizer and acceptor play a crucial role in the TTA-UC DSSC performance. In this presentation we will examine the influence of the redox mediator and structure of the acceptor molecule on the triplet excited state lifetimes, cross surface energy migration, TTA-UC efficiency, and device performance.

Harnessing low energy triplet states via molecular photon upconversion at organic-inorganic interfaces

254th National Meeting (2017)

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