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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Probing the Electronic Structure of a Photoexcited Solar Cell Dye with Transient X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

This study uses transient X-ray absorption (XA) spectroscopy and timedependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) to directly visualize the charge density around the metal atom and the surrounding ligands following an ultrafast metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) process in the widely used RuII solar cell dye, Ru(dcbpy)2(NCS)2 (termed N3). We measure the Ru L-edge XA spectra of the singlet ground (1A1) and the transient triplet (3MLCT) excited state of N34 and perform TD-DFT calculations of 2p core-level excitations, which identify a unique spectral signature of the electron density on the NCS ligands. We find that the Ru 2p, Ru eg, and NCS orbitals are stabilized by 2.0, 1.0, and 0.6 eV, respectively, in the transient 3MLCT state of the dye. These results highlight the role of the NCS ligands in governing the oxidation state of the Ru center.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

The layer boundary effect on multi-layer mesoporous TiO 2 film based dye sensitized solar cells

Multi-layer mesoporous TiO 2 prepared by screen printing is widely used for fabrication of high-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Here, we compare the three types of ~10 um thick mesoporous TiO 2 films, which were screen printed as 1-, 2- and 4-layers using the same TiO 2 nanocrystal paste. The layer boundary of the multi-layer mesoporous TiO 2 films was observed in the cross-section SEM. The existence of a layer boundary could reduce the photoelectron diffusion length with the increase of layer number. However, the photoelectron diffusion lengths of the Z907 dye sensitized solar cells based on these different layered mesoporous TiO 2 films are all longer than the film thickness. Consequently, the photovoltaic performance seems to have little dependence on the layer number of the multi-layer TiO 2 based DSSCs.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

First-principles studies of substituent effects on squaraine dyes

Squaraine dyes are candidates for DNA-templated excitonic interactions. This work presents substituent effects on the electronic and photophysicalproperties of squaraine dyes and a correlation between empirical Hammettconstant and those properties.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

Dye-Sensitization Of Nanocrystalline ZnO Thin Films

Nannocrystalline and nanoporus thin films of ZnO were synthesized on glass substrates by using wet chemical drop casting method. X-ray diffraction measurements on these samples confirmed the formation of ZnO nanocrystallites in hexagonal wurtzite phase with mean size of {approx}20 nm. Photo sensitization of these nanostructured ZnO thin films was carried out using three types of dyes Rhodamine 6 G, Chlorophyll and cocktail of Rhodamine 6 G and Chlorophyll in 1:1 ratio. Dye sensitized ZnO thin films showed enhanced optical absorption in visible spectral region compared to the pristine ZnO thin films.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Charge transfer interactions of a Ru(II) dye complex and related ligand molecules adsorbed on Au(111)

The interaction of the dye molecule, N3 (cis-bis(isothiocyanato)bis(2,2{sup '}-bipyridyl-4,4{sup '}-dicarboxylato) -ruthenium(II)), and related ligand molecules with a Au(111) surface has been studied using synchrotron radiation-based electron spectroscopy. Resonant photoemission spectroscopy (RPES) and autoionization of the adsorbed molecules have been used to probe the coupling between the molecules and the substrate. Evidence of charge transfer from the states near the Fermi level of the gold substrate into the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the molecules is found in the monolayer RPES spectra of both isonicotinic acid and bi-isonicotinic acid (a ligand of N3), but not for the N3 molecule itself. Calibrated x-ray absorption spectroscopy and valence band spectra of the monolayers reveals that the LUMO crosses the Fermi level of the surface in all cases, showing that charge transfer is energetically possible both from and to the molecule. A core-hole clock analysis of the resonant photoemission reveals a charge transfer time of around 4 fs from the LUMO of the N3 dye molecule to the surface. The lack of charge transfer in the opposite direction is understood in terms of the lack of spatial overlap between the {pi}*-orbitals in the aromatic rings of the bi-isonicotinic acid ligands of N3 and the gold surface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Electronic structure of Fe- vs. Ru-based dye molecules

In order to explore whether Ru can be replaced by inexpensive Fe in dye molecules for solar cells, the differences in the electronic structure of Fe- and Ru-based dyes are investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. Molecules with the metal in a sixfold, octahedral N cage, such as tris(bipyridines) and tris(phenanthrolines), exhibit a systematic downward shift of the N 1s-to-{pi}* transition when Ru is replaced by Fe. This shift is explained by an extra transfer of negative charge from the metal to the N ligands in the case of Fe, which reduces the binding energy of the N 1s core level. The C 1s-to-{pi}* transitions show the opposite trend, with an increase in the transition energy when replacing Ru by Fe. Molecules with the metal in a fourfold, planar N cage (porphyrins) exhibit a more complex behavior due to a subtle competition between the crystal field, axial ligands, and the 2+ vs. 3+ oxidation states.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Facile method for synthesis of TiO{sub 2} film and its application in high efficiency dye sensitized-solar cell (DSSC)

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) is a device which converts a solar energy to electrical energy. Different with semiconductor thin film based solar cell, DSSC utilize the sensitized-dye to absorb the photon and semiconductor such as titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) and zinc oxide (ZnO) as a working electrode photoanode. In this report, the preparation of TiO{sub 2} film using a facile method of spray deposition and its application in DSSC have been presented. TiO{sub 2} photoanode was synthesized by growing the droplet of titanium tetraisopropoxide diluted in acid solution on the substrate of conductive glass flourine-doped tin oxide (FTO) with variation of precursor volume. DSSC was assemblied by sandwiching both of photoanode electrode and platinum counter electrode subsequently filling the area between these electrodes with triodine/iodine electrolite solution as redox pairs. The characterization of the as prepared DSSC using solar simulator (AM 1.5G, 100 mW/cm{sup 2}) and I-V source meter Keithley 2400 showed that the performance of DSSC was affected by the precursor volume.. The overall conversion efficiency of DSSC using the optimum TiO{sub 2} film was about 1.97% with the open circuit voltage (V{sub oc}) of 0.73 V, short circuit current density (J{sub sc}) of 4.61 mA and fill factor (FF) of 0.58.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Conducting polymers based counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Conducting polymer films were synthesized and employed as an alternative to expensive platinum counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells. poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) thin films were spin-coated and polypyrrole films were electrochemically deposited via cyclic voltammetry method on ITO substrates. The morphology of the films were imaged by SEM and AFM. These films show good catalytic activity towards triiodide reduction as compared to Pt/FTO electrodes. Finally the photovoltaic performance of DSSC fabricated using N3 dye were compared with PT/FTO, PEDOT/ITO, and e-PPy counter electrodes.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Processing of microencapsulated dyes for the visual inspection of fibre reinforced plastics

The evaluation of damages caused during processing, assembly or usage of fibre reinforced plastics is still a challenge. The use of inspection technology like ultrasonic scanning enables a detailed damage analysis but requires high investments and trained staff. Therefore, the visual inspection method is widely used. A drawback of this method is the difficult identification of barely visible damages, which can already be detrimental for the structural integrity. Therefore an approach is undertaken to integrate microencapsulated dyes into the laminates of fibre reinforced plastic parts to highlight damages on the surface. In case of a damage, the microcapsules rupture which leads to a release of the dye and a visible bruise on the part surface. To enable a wide application spectrum for this technology the microcapsules must be processable without rupturing with established manufacturing processes for fibre reinforced plastics. Therefore the incorporation of microcapsules in the filament winding, prepreg autoclave and resin transfer moulding (RTM) process is investigated. The results show that the use of a carrier medium is a feasible way to incorporate the microcapsules into the laminate for all investigated manufacturing processes. Impact testing of these laminates shows a bruise formation on the specimen surface which correlates with the impact energy level. This indicates a microcapsule survival during processing and shows the potential of this technology for damage detection and characterization.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effects of cell area on the performance of dye sensitized solar cell

Dye sensitized solar cells (DSCs) have significant advantage over the current silicon cells by having low manufacturing cost and potentially high conversion efficiency. Therefore, DSCs are expected to be used as the next generation solar cell device that covers wide range of new applications. In order to achieve highly efficient DSCs for practical application, study on the effect of increasing the cell’s area on the performance of dye sensitized solar need to be carried out. Three different DSC cell areas namely, 1, 12.96 and 93.5 cm{sup 2} respectively were fabricated and analyzed through solar simulator and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). From the analysis of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), it was observed that the cell’s electron lifetime was influenced significantly by the cell’s area. Although the collection efficiency of all cells recorded to be approximately 100% but higher recombination rate with increased cell area reduced the performance of the cell.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

A home-made system for IPCE measurement of standard and dye-sensitized solar cells

A home-made system for incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) characterization, based on a double-beam UV-Vis spectrophotometer, has been set up. In addition to its low cost (compared to the commercially available apparatuses), the double-beam configuration gives the advantage to measure, autonomously and with no need for supplementary equipment, the lamp power in real time, compensating possible variations of the spectral emission intensity and quality, thus reducing measurement times. To manage the optical and electronic components of the system, a custom software has been developed. Validations carried out on a common silicon-based photodiode and on a dye-sensitized solar cell confirm the possibility to adopt this system for determining the IPCE of solar cells, including dye-sensitized ones.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Visible light assisted degradation of organic dye using Ag{sub 3}PO{sub 4}

The study of visible light photodegradation of organic dye Methylene Blue (MB) have been investigated using silver phosphate (Ag{sub 3}PO{sub 4}) as a photocatalyst which is good efficient material for photocatalytic reaction. The simple ion-exchange method is used to prepare Ag{sub 3}PO{sub 4}. The structure of the material have been confirmed using X-ray diffraction which shows cubic structure of Ag{sub 3}PO{sub 4}. The functional group of the Ag{sub 3}PO{sub 4} has been verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The bandgap of Ag{sub 3}PO{sub 4} is calculated using kubelka-munk function from the ultra violet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, the absorption of Ag{sub 3}PO{sub 4} starts from 470 nm. Under simulated visible light irradiation, Ag{sub 3}PO{sub 4} catalyst exhibits good catalytic ability for degrading MB dye.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Co-sensitization of ZnO by CdS quantum dots in natural dye-sensitized solar cells with polymeric electrolytes to improve the cell stability

The CdS quantum dots (QDs) were deposited on ZnO layer by chemical bath deposition method to absorb light in the shorter wavelength region and used as photoanode in the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSCs) with natural dye extracted from Noni leaves. Microstructures of CdS-ZnO from various dipping time were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM and EDX. The results showed that the CdS is hexagonal structure and the amount of CdS increases when the dipping time increases. The maximal conversion efficiency of 0.292% was achieved by the DSSCs based on CdS QDs-sensitized ZnO film obtained from 9 min-dipping time. Furthermore, the stability of DSSCs was improved by using polymeric electrolyte. Poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) and Polyacrylamide (PAM) were introduced to CdS QDs-sensitized ZnO film from 9 min-dipping time. Each polymeric electrolyte was prepared by swelling from 0.1-2.0 %w in H2O. The maximal conversion efficiency of 0.207% was achieved for DSSCs based on CdS QDs-sensitized ZnO film with PAM 1.0% and the conversion efficiency was decreased 25% when it was left for1 hr.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Improved conversion efficiency of dye sensitized solar cell using Zn doped TiO{sub 2}-ZrO{sub 2} nanocomposite

TiO{sub 2}-ZrO{sub 2} and Zn doped TiO{sub 2}-ZrO{sub 2} nanocomposites were prepared by hydrothermal method for dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) application. The structural and optical properties were investigated by X –ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Visible spectroscopy respectively. XRD results revealed the formation of material in nano size. The average crystallite size is 22.32 nm, 17.41 nm and 6.31 nm for TiO{sub 2}, TiO{sub 2}-ZrO{sub 2} and Zn doped TiO{sub 2}-ZrO{sub 2} nanocomposites respectively. The optical bandgap varies from 2.04 eV to 3.75 eV. Dye sensitized solar cells were fabricated using the prepared material. Pomegranate juice was used as a sensitizer and graphite coated conducting glass plate was used as counter electrode. The I – V characteristics were recorded to measure photo response of DSSC. Photovoltaic parameter like open circuit voltage, power conversion efficiency, and fill factor were evaluated for fabricated solar cell. The power conversion efficiency of DSSC fabricated with TiO{sub 2}, TiO{sub 2}-ZrO{sub 2} and Zn doped TiO{sub 2}-ZrO{sub 2} nanocomposites were found 0.71%, 1.97% and 4.58% respectively.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of TiO{sub 2} thickness on nanocomposited aligned ZnO nanorod/TiO{sub 2} for dye-sensitized solar cells

The TiO{sub 2} films were deposited on glass substrate at different thicknesses with different deposition frequencies (1, 2, 3 and 4 times) using spin coating technique and their structural properties were investigated. Subsequently, the nanocomposited aligned ZnO nanorods and TiO{sub 2} were formed by deposited the TiO{sub 2} on top of aligned ZnO Nanorod on ITO-coated glass at different thicknesses using the same method of TiO{sub 2} deposited on glass substrate. The nanocomposited aligned ZnO nanorod/TiO{sub 2} were coated with different thicknesses of 900µm, 1815µm, 2710µm, 3620µm and ZnO without TiO{sub 2}. The dye-sensitized solar cells were fabricated from the nanocomposited aligned ZnO nanorod/TiO{sub 2} with thickness of 900µm, 1815µm, 2710µm and 3620µm and ZnO without TiO{sub 2} and their photovoltaic properties of the DSSCs were investigated. From the solar simulator measurement the solar energy conversion efficiency (η) of 2.543% under AM 1.5 was obtained for the ZnO nanorod/TiO{sub 2} photoanode-2710µm Dye-Sensitized solar cell.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

An organic dye-polymer (phenol red-poly (vinyl alcohol)) composite architecture towards tunable -optical and -saturable absorption characteristics

Herein, we demonstrate that blending an organic dye (guest/filler), with a vinyl polymer (host template), is an inexpensive and simple approach for the fabrication of multifunctional photonic materials which could display an enhancement in the desirable properties of the constituent materials and, at the same time provide novel synergistic properties for the guest-host system. A new guest-host nanocomposite system comprising Phenol Red dye and poly (vinyl alcohol) as guest and host template, respectively, which exhibits tunable optical characteristics and saturable absorption behavior, is introduced. The dependence of local electronic environment provided by the polymer template and the interactions of the polymer molecules with the encapsulated guest molecules on the observed optical/nonlinear absorption behavior is discussed. An understanding of the tunability of the optical/ photophysical processes, with respect to the filler content, as discussed herein could help in the design of improved optical materials for several photonic device applications like organic light emitting diodes and saturable absorbers.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

Influence of reabsorption and reemission on stimulated Raman scattering of polymethine dyes in multiple scattering media

It is shown that reabsorption of the luminescence radiation in the range of its overlapping with the absorption spectrum and the following reemission to a long-wavelength range may noticeably affect the process of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in polymethine dyes in multiple scattering media (MSM). This is related to the fact that SRS in such media occurs jointly with the random lasing (RL), which favors SRS and makes up with it a united nonlinear process. Reemission into the long-wavelength spectrum range amplified in MSM causes the RL spectrum to shift to longer wavelengths and initiates the long-wavelength band of RL, in which a main part of the lasing energy is concentrated. This weakens or completely stops the SRS if the band is beyond the range of possible spectral localisation of Stokes lines. This process depends on the efficiency of light scattering, dye concentration, temperature and pump intensity; hence, there exist optimal values of these parameters for obtaining SRS in MSM. (nonlinear optical phenomena)

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Polymer dye laser pumped with green semiconductor lasers

We report the results of experiments on quasi-longitudinal pumping of a polymer dye laser by two green ( λ = 513 nm) pulsed laser diodes. The lasing thresholds, efficiency, and photostability of pyrromethenes in various polymers are studied. The efficiency of dye lasers based on pyrromethene 567 and pyrromethene 580 with a three-mirror cavity with partial astigmatism compensation exceeds 20 %. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗