Fabrication of Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells by Using Bulky Peptides

摘要

There has been an increasing interest in recent years in the issue of energy resources and CO2 reduction. Therefore dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) [1] that can be fabricated with low material and production costs have been receiving much attention as a means of resolving these issues. DSSCs have generally been prepared by adsorption of dyes (Ru complexes and metalfree organic compounds) on a TiO2 substrate [2]. However, in many cases, adsoiption of dyes causes aggregation of the dye molecules on the substrate. Therefore, DSSCs have an essential problem that the electronic injection through dyes decreases because the aggregation of dye molecules occasionally causes a self-quenching of the dye molecules. In this study, we report a new method that prevents aggregation of dye molecules on substrates and enables effective electronic injection through the dyes. For the new method, we used a dye modified with bulky peptide consisting of oligo(ethylene glycol)s. It was expected that the dye molecules would be adsorbed on the electrode without aggregation because of steric hindrance between the peptides.