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Bile acid derivatives as novel co-adsorbents for enhanced performance of blue dye-sensitized solar cells

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Kezia SasitharanORCiD, Dr Fabio CucinottaORCiD, Professor Marina FreitagORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

© The Author(s) 2025.Diketopyrrolopyrrole-based blue dyes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) exhibit promise for building-integrated photovoltaics, but their efficiency is compromised by dye aggregation-induced charge recombination. Novel bile acid derivative co-adsorbents featuring bulky hydrophobic substituents at the 3-β position were synthesized to address this challenge. These molecules, designed to modulate intermolecular electronic interactions, effectively altered the TiO2 surface coverage dynamics, as evidenced by UV-Vis spectroscopy and dye-loading kinetics. Systematic variation of hydrophilic substituents revealed structure-function relationships in dye separation efficacy. Devices incorporating these co-adsorbers achieved power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of 7.6%, surpassing reference devices (5.2%) and those using conventional chenodeoxycholic acid co-adsorbers (6.4%). The optimized devices exhibited a 30% increase in short-circuit current density, 30 mV enhancement in open-circuit voltage, and 60% peak external quantum efficiency at 550 nm. Time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy confirmed suppressed non-radiative recombination, while transient absorption spectroscopy revealed accelerated electron injection rates from 6.4 ps to 4.6 ps. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy elucidated the mechanism of reduced interfacial recombination. These findings present a molecular engineering strategy for mitigating lateral charge transfer in planar dye systems, advancing semi-transparent hybrid photovoltaics.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Sasitharan K, Mora Abarca AJ, Cucinotta F, Pineda LW, Soto Tellini VH, Freitag M

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Communications Chemistry

Year: 2025

Volume: 8

Issue: 1

Online publication date: 10/03/2025

Acceptance date: 27/01/2025

Date deposited: 31/03/2025

ISSN (electronic): 2399-3669

Publisher: Nature Research

URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-025-01433-1

DOI: 10.1038/s42004-025-01433-1

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