In dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), sunlight ejects an electron from titanium dioxide, which travels through a circuit to preform electric work. Afterward, the electron must be shuttled back to the titanium dioxide by a redox mediator molecule in order to restore charge neutrality. These redox mediators are typically small molecules that contain metal ions, which are readily oxidized and reduced to move electrons through a solution. This process is integral to the functioning of the solar cell. Many redox mediators use precious and labile metals, which leads to high cost and instability. Research in our group is focused on exploring new possibilities for redox mediator molecules that alleviate these issues through the incorporation of earth abundant metals and complexes with chelating ligands. In this poster, we will describe the synthesis of new redox mediators, their characterization, and testing in actual DSSC devices.

Redox mediators for dye sensitized solar cells: Metal complexes of chelating nitrogen donor ligands

2019 Spring National Meeting

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