Solar energy conversion at dye sensitized nanostructured electrodes fabricated by sol-gel processing: Final report

The significant achievements accomplished in this program include: (1) the first demonstration of osmium polypyridyl compounds as sensitizers; (2) the first demonstration of donor-acceptor compounds as sensitizers; (3) the first utilization of alternative acac based sensitizer-semiconductor linkages; (4) the first demonstration of remote interfacial electron transfer; (5) the first application of bimetallic compounds as sensitizers; (6) the first correlation of the interfacial charge recombination rate constant with the open circuit photovoltage in sensitized materials; (7) the first demonstration of a solid state dye sensitized TiO{sub 2} cell; (8) an alternative band edge unpinning model for the nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2}/electrolyte interface at negative applied potentials; and (9) the first self-consistent model of electron transport in dye sensitized TiO{sub 2} films. In the following sections the authors summarize some of the results from this program and highlight the key findings