Organic Sensitizers for High Efficiency Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
After the industrial revolution in 19th-century energy, demand has increased exponentially. Relying on fossil fuels long term is not a good option due to their non-renewable nature and concerns about burning fossil fuels raising carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere. This dissertation describes, utilizing sunlight for electricity production with dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). DSCs are an attractive solar technology due to processing advantages over traditional solar cells. To improve the stability of DSCs, strong surface binding dyes are important. This work studies the dual anchor dual donor (DD-π-AA) dye framework with various donors (electron rich π-systems) and π-bridges (electron neutral π-systems). The dye component is responsible for the important role of sunlight absorption, and this dissertation focuses on thienopyrazine and quinoxaline based dual donor and dual anchor dyes to catch photons in the near-infrared region. Different sensitizers for high-efficiency DSCs have been discussed in this dissertation.
African Americans, Honors, Numerical Critical Mass, Resiliency, Shared Identity, Chemistry
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