以3-氨基丙基三甲氧基硅烷(APTS)修饰的二氧化钛为负极制备的染料敏化太阳能电池在100 mW·cm-2的模拟太阳光照下的短路电流、开路电压、光电转换效率分别为18.32 mA·cm-2、775.9 mV、9.15%.而没有经过ATPS修饰的电池三项性能参数分别为18.08 mA·cm-2、749.9 mV、7.70%, 修饰后电池的光电转换效率提高了18.8%, 同时填充因子由0.57提高为0.64. 暗电流-电压曲线显示起始电压从-0.30 V变化到-0.40V, 表明二氧化钛电极和电解液之间的暗反应得到了有效抑制, APTS作为阻挡层减少了二氧化钛电极表面的缺陷与表面态. 另外, 通过实验设计, 将APTS与染料层-层自组装于二氧化钛电极上, 通过X射线光电子能谱(XPS)研究了二氧化钛层、APTS、染料的作用形式. 定性与定量结果表明: APTS中的乙氧基部分脱除后形成了Si―O―Ti单桥或者双桥键, 钌染料cis-Ru(dcpyH2)2(SCN)2通过分子中的部分―COOH与APTS中的―NH2形成的静电作用力吸附在TiO2电极上. 傅里叶变换红外(FT-IR)光谱的结果进一步证明了这种分子间作用.
A dye-sensitized solar cell(DSSC) based on a 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane(APTS)-modified TiO2 electrode was fabricated.This cell generated a short current of 18.32 mA·cm-2,an open voltage of 775.9 mV,and its overall photo-to-electricity conversion efficiency was 9.15% under 100 mW·cm-2 white light irradiation from a xenon lamp.The three DSSC parameters for the bare TiO2 electrode were found to be 18.08 mA·cm-2,749.9 mV,and 7.70%.Compared with the unmodified solar cell,the overall conversion efficiency improved by 18.8% and the fill factor improved from 0.57 to 0.64.This improvement is attributed to the inhibition of the back reaction at the interface between the semiconductor and the electrolyte.The dark current-applied voltage curve shows that the onset voltage shifts from-0.30 to-0.40 V,which indicates a reduction in defects and surface states on the TiO2 surface because of the presence of APTS.Furthermore,special experiments were conducted to investigate the interaction among TiO2,APTS,and the cis-Ru(dcpyH2)2(SCN)2 dye.In these experiments,APTS and the dye were self-assembled onto a TiO2 electrode in layers.The interaction was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).Qualitative and quantitative results showed that the ―OCH2CH3 was partially removed and it formed mono-bridge or bi-bridge Si―O―Ti bonds.The cis-Ru(dcpyH2)2(SCN)2 dye adsorbed onto APTS through an electrostatic interaction between ―COOH and ―NH2 from the dye.FT-IR spectra further confirmed this inner interaction.