In this contribution, we present a new hybrid solar cell design. CuInS2 nanoparticles were synthesized using a low temperature colloidal route with organic surfactants to form an inorganic nanoporous hole transporting electrode. A soluble fullerene derivate PCBM (1-(3-methoxycarbonyl)-propyl-1-1-phenyl-(6,6) C61) was used for electron transport. We investigated the photovoltaic performance of the cells consisting of these CuInS2 and PCBM bilayers with and without a surface-adsorbed RuL2(NCS)/TBA(2:2) dye complex(where L= 2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid; TBA= tetrabutylammonium). The cells containing the dye showed an improved photovoltaic response.
Spectroscopic studies of electrode processes at molecular level are necessary both for a more detailed understanding of the fundamental electrochemical reactions involved and for the development of better electrode materials. Such investigations require molecular-specific, non destructive surface analytical techniques capable of analyzing solid-liquid interfaces in situ, without changing the structure of the often unstable reaction products during the measurements. It has been demonstrated previously that IR-spectroscopy fulfills these requirements. Recently, the development of FTIR-spectrometry provides the sensitivity and speed necessary to study also shortliving intermediates generated in a spectroelectrochemical cell during potentiodynamic measurements. This paper deals with the advantages and limi-tations of the different IR-spectroscopic reflection techniques developed and applied since 1980 for the in situ study of metal and organic polymer electrodes in contact with aaueous and non aqueous electrolytes (external reflection techniques, internal reflection technique) . Special emphasis is placed on recent combined electrochemical and FTIR-ATR-spectroscopic investigations on polythiophene, poly-3-methylthiophene and polybithiophene.
The properties of a novel poly(bithiophene-fulleropyrrolidine), which belongs to the class of so called “double cable” polymers, are studied. The polymer consists of covalently linked electron acceptor moieties to an electron donor polymeric backbone. Photoinduced charge transfer is studied by photoinduced absorption spectroscopy and by light induced ESR spectroscopy.
Abstract The majority of energy storage devices like batteries, fuel cells or electrolyzers require heterogeneous electrodes. Immobilization of redox‐active organic molecules by a polymeric approach seems to be a promising route towards organic electrodes for electrocatalytic energy storage or in batteries. Although numerous reports on synthesis and application of new poly‐anthraquinones exist, a universal guideline or tool for selection of the best polymer, concerning several energy storage applications, is still underdeveloped. Moving into the direction of developing such a tool, we have selected and synthesized three poly(anthraquinones). NMR, FTIR, UV‐Vis, TGA, contact angle measurement and SEM revealed certain structure‐property trends, which can be correlated with the performance in the electrochemical investigation. The insights gained within this work demonstrate correlations between the FTIR frequencies and the electrochemical reduction potential, as well as between the polymer hydrophobicity and the electrochemical performance.
The morphology and molecular organisation of the semiconductor layer at the interface between organic semiconductor and dielectric material of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) is a crucial factor in achieving good device performance. It is well known that charge transport in these devices occurs near to the interface with the gate dielectric. Charge induced polarization states at this interface create a hysteresis at the transfer characteristics of the OFETs displaying two different source-drain current states by the forward and backword sweeping of the gate voltage. It is not clear what kind of charged states are induced at this critical interface. We employed attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FTIR) as well as dielectric spectroscopy to investigate this interface. The results show that the chemical structure of materials and their interface nanomorphology determine the properties like hystheresis and ambipolar transport.
In situ attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroelectrochemistry during oxidation (p-doping) and reduction (n-doping) of three phenyl-substituted polythiophenes, namely POPT, PEOPT and POMeOPT is presented. All the three phenyl substituted polythiophenes show both n- and p-doping. The infrared active vibration (IRAV) patterns obtained during electrochemical oxidation (p-doping) and reduction (n-doping) are compared. HOMO and LUMO energy levels are estimated from cyclic voltammetric experiments and from IRAV patterns during oxidation and reduction. A comparison shows that the standard graphical procedure to determine the onset of oxidation and reduction peaks in the cyclic voltammogram can be improved using in situ spectroscopy.