Photovoltaic cells are a promising solution to the current energy crisis. Among the different photovoltaic cell technologies developed, dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSC) are emerging as viable low-cost alternatives to Si PV technology. This thesis presents studies on fabrication and characterisation of TiO2 based dye-sensitised solar cells. Chapter 1 gives an overview of different photovoltaic cell technologies and a review of the state-of-the art DSSC technology. Chapter 2 describes the techniques used for characterisation of DSSCs. Chapter 3 describes the fabrication of TiO2 based dye-sensitised solar cells. Chapter 4 presents the analysis of measurements obtained by the characterisation techniques. Finally chapter 5 summarises the work done and suggests directions for future work.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest on renewable energy sources as substitute to fossil fuels. Among various processes of energy generation, electrochemical methods such as storage and conversion systems, electrolysis of water (production of H2 and O2), fuel cells, batteries, supercapacitors and solar cells have received great attention. The core of these energy technologies is a series of electrochemical processes, which directly depend on the nature of ‘electro catalyst’. The design and preparation of an electro catalyst is based on new concepts such as controlled surface roughness, atomic topographic profiles, defined catalytic sites, atomic rearrangements, and phase transitions during electrochemical reactions. Good electro catalysts should possess low over potential, high exchange current density, high stability, low cost and high abundance. The most fundamental reactions in the area of electrochemistry are hydrogen evolution (HER) and oxygen reduction (ORR) reactions. They are important in different energy systems such as fuel cells and batteries. Platinum has been a favoured electro catalyst due to its high activity, favourable density of states at Fermi level and chemical inertness. The low abundance, however, limits its large scale applications. Alternate materials with high catalytic activities are always required. In this particular direction, metal chalcogenides such as sulphides and selenides have attracted attention in recent years. The present thesis describes the synthesis of different phases of palladium and nickel chalcogenides and their applicability in various electrochemical reactions, both in aqueous and organic media. First part includes the synthesis of highly crystalline palladium selenide phases namely Pd17Se15, Pd7Se4 and Pd4Se by employing facile single source molecular precursor method. Pure palladium selenide phases are prepared by thrombolysis of highly processable intermediate complexes formed from metal and selenium precursors. Continuous films of different dimensions on various substrates (glass, ITO, FTO etc.) could be prepared (figure 1). This is one of the requirements for processing any new material. Thickness of the films could be altered by changing the volume of precursor complex coated on the substrate. All the phases are found to be metallic in nature with resistivity values in the range of 30 to 180 µΩ.cm. Figure 1. (a) Scanning electron micrograph and (b) photographic image of Pd17Se15 prepared on different substrates glass (1), Si (2), fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) (3) and DSSC solar cell fabricated using FTO coated Pd17Se15 as the counter electrode (4). Other components of DSSC are given in the experimental section. All the palladium selenides phases are shown to be catalytically active towards electrochemical reactions such as HER and ORR. It is observed that the activities of the phases depend on the stoichiometric ratio of palladium to selenium. Higher the palladium content in the phase, higher is the catalytic activity observed. Therefore, the activities of the chalcogenides can be easily tuned by varying the ratio of metal to chalcogen. Tafel slopes of 50–60 mV/decade are observed for all three phases towards HER indicating that Volmer- Heyrovsky mechanism is operative. The exchange current densities are in the range of 2.3 x 10-4 A cm-2 to 6.6 x 10-6 A cm-2 (figure 2a). Figure 2. (a) Linear sweep voltammograms of Pd17Se15, Pd7Se4 and Pd4Se in 0.5 M H2SO4 (HER) and (b) 0.1 M KOH (ORR) at a scan rate of 2 mVs-1. These phases are found to be highly robust and stable under different pH conditions. Stability of the phases is confirmed by characterizing the catalysts post-HER process, using various techniques such as XPS, XRD and SEM. High activities observed for Pd4Se is explained based on electrochemically active surface area values determined from under potential deposition studies and also based on DFT calculations. Computational studies reveal the presence of different charge distribution on palladium in all the three phases which is likely to be another reason for varied activities. Palladium selenides are also explored as catalysts towards ORR in alkaline medium. Kinetic parameters and reaction mechanism are determined using RDE studies. All the three phases are found to be active and Pd4Se shows the highest activity, following a direct 4 electron reduction pathway (figure 2b). Other two phases follow 2 electron pathway terminating at hydrogen peroxide stage. Catalytic activity of Pd17Se15 is further improved by Nano structuring of the material and by synthesizing the material on active supports such as rGO, acetylene black and today carbon. ORR plays an important role in metal-air batteries. The palladium chalcogenides are used as electrodes in metal-air batteries. Specific energy density observed in the case of Mg-air primary batteries is higher for Pd4Se than the other two phases (figure 3a). Figure 3. (a) Discharge curves of Mg-O2 battery with different phases of palladium selenides as cathodes. Constant current density of 0.5 mA cm-2 is used for discharge. (b) Characteristic J–V curves of DSSCs with Pd17Se15, Pd7Se4 and Pt as counter electrodes. Versatility of these phases is further studied towards redox reaction in non-aqueous medium (I3-/I-). This reaction plays a crucial role in the regeneration of the dye in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). Palladium selenide phases prepared on FTO plates are employed as counter electrodes in DSSC. The solar light conversion efficiencies are found to be 7.45 and 6.8% for Pd17Se15 and Pd7Se4 respectively and are comparable to that of platinum (figure 3b). The reason for high activities may be attributed to high electronic conductivity and low work function of the phases. The following chapter deals with the synthesis of palladium sulphide phases (Pd4S and Pd16S7) using both hydrothermal and single source precursor methods. Electro catalytic activities of the phases are shown towards HER and ORR and Pd4S exhibits better catalytic activities than that of Pd16S7 phase. Direct electrochemistry of cytochrome c is achieved on Pd4S with ∆E of ~64 mV (figure 4a). Electrochemical oxidation of ethanol, ethylene glycol (EG) and glycerol are also studied on the Pd4S phase and the activity is found to follow the order, glycerol > ethylene glycol > ethanol (figure 4b). Figure 4. (a) Cyclic voltammograms of Pd4S in (1) 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0) and (2) in presence of 0.2 mM cytochrome c at a scan rate of 50 mVs-1 and (b) Voltammograms of Pd4S in presence of different alcohols (ethanol, EG and glycerol) in 1 M KOH solution at sweep rate of 50 mVs-1. Concentration of alcohols used is 0.1 M. The effect of dimensionality on the electro catalytic activity of nickel selenide phases forms part of the next chapter. Nickel selenide (NiSe) nanostructures possessing different morphologies of wires, spheres and hexagons are synthesized by varying the selenium precursors namely, selenourea, selenium dioxide (SeO2) and potassium selenocyanate (KSeCN), respectively using hydrothermal method. The different selenium precursors result in morphologies that are probably dictated by the by-products as well as relative rates of amorphous selenium formation and dissolution. The three different morphologies are used as catalysts for HER, ORR and glucose oxidation reactions. The wire morphology is found to be better than that of spheres and hexagons for all the reactions. Among the reactions studied, NiSe is found to be good for HER and glucose oxidation while ORR seems to terminate at the peroxide stage. In alkaline medium, nickel forms hydroxides and oxy-hydroxides and these oxyhydroxides are catalytically active towards the oxidation of glucose. Therefore, nickel selenides are employed as highly selective non-enzymatic glucose sensors and detection limit of 5 µM is observed. Electrical measurements on a single nanowire and a hexagon morphology of NiSe are carried out on devices fabricated by focused ion beam (FIB) technique (figure 5). The semiconducting nature of NiSe is revealed in the I-v measurements. The band gap of the material is found to be 1.9 eV and hence the single nanowire and hexagon are shown to act as visible light photodetector. Figure 5. SEM images of (a) single NiSe nanowire and (b) single NiSe hexagon with Pt contacts fabricated by FIB technique. Figure 6. Cyclic voltammograms of NiSe nanowires in 0.5 M aqueous NaOH in the (i) absence and (ii) the presence of 0.5 mM glucose, at a scan rate of 20 mVs-1 and (b) Galvanostatic discharge performance of Ni3Se2 with different morphologies (A, B and C represent Ni3Se2 prepared from SeO2, selenourea and KSeCN respectively). The next chapter includes the synthesis of different morphologies of Ni3Se2 using three different selenium precursors (SeO2, KSeCN and selenourea) and the study of their activities towards electrochemical reactions such as HER and glucose oxidation (figure 6a). Electrical measurements demonstrated the metallic behaviour of the material. These are also shown to be efficient electrode materials in energy storage devices such as supercapacitors with high specific capacitance of 2200 F/g (figure 6b). The studies are summarized in the last chapter with scope for further work. The appendixes show preliminary studies on electrooxidation of glycerol and propanol on Pd supported on TiN, synthesis of other selenides of Ni, Cu, Ag and Ti, and electro synthesis of metal-organic frameworks. (For figures pl refer the abstract pdf file)

The electronic and geometrical structure of single difluoro-bora-1,3,5,7-tetraphenyl-aza-dipyrromethene (aza-BODIPY) molecules adsorbed on the Au(111) surface is investigated by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy in conjunction with ab initio density functional theory simulations of the density of states and of the interaction with the substrate. Our DFT calculations indicate that the aza-BODIPY molecule forms a chemical bond with the Au(111) substrate, with distortion of the molecular geometry and significant charge transfer between the molecule and the substrate. Nevertheless, most likely due to the low corrugation of the Au(111) surface, diffusion of the molecule is observed for applied bias in excess of 1 V. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

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Exploring new technologies that can meet the world’s energy demands in an efficient and clean manner is critically important due to the depletion of natural resources and environmental concerns. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are low-cost and clean technology options that use solar energy efficiently and are being intensively studied. How to further reduce the cost of this technology while enhancing device performance is one of the demanding issues for large scale application and commercialization of DSSCs. In this research dissertation, four main contributions are made in this regard with the motivation to reduce further cost of DSSC technology. Firstly, ~10% efficiencies were achieved after developing understanding of key concepts and procedures involved in DSSCs fabrication. These efficiencies were achieved after step-by-step modifications in the DSSC design. Secondly, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were successfully employed as an alternative to Pt in the counter electrodes of DSSCs. DSSCs fabricated with CNTs were ~86% as efficient as Pt-based cells. Non-aligned CNTs were successfully grown using four different CVD methods and finally, multi-walled vertically aligned CNTs (MW-VACNTs) were synthesized using water-assisted chemical vapor deposition (WA-CVD). Thirdly, carbon derived from pyrolysis of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) was successfully employed in counter electrodes of DSSCs instead of Pt. DSSCs with NCC were ~58% as efficient as Pt-based DSSCs. Fourthly, novel organic metal-free dyes were designed and employed instead of commonly used Ru-based dyes. DSSCs with these novel sensitizers were ~62% as efficient as those using the conventional Ru-based dyes. Characterization techniques including current-voltage measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetery (CV), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used.

The solid-state mesoscopic solar cells (sMSCs) have been developed as a promising alternative technology to the conventional photovoltaics. However, the device performance suffers from the low hole-mobilities and the incomplete pore filling of the hole transport materials (HTMs) into the mesoporous electrodes. A variety of HTMs and different preparation methods have been studied to overcome these limitations. There are two types of sMSCs included in this doctoral thesis, namely solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (sDSCs) and organometallic halide perovskite based solar cells. Two different types of HTMs, namely the small molecule organic HTM spiro-OMeTAD and the conjugated polymer HTM P3HT, were compared in sDSCs. The photo-induced absorption spectroscopy (PIA) spectra and spectroelectrochemical data suggested that the dye-dye hole conduction occurs in the absence of HTM and appears to be of significant importance to the contribution of hole transport. The PIA measurements and transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) indicated that the oxidized dye was efficiently regenerated by a small molecule organic HTM TPAA due to its excellent pore filling. The conducting polymer P3HT was employed as a co-HTM to transfer the holes away from TPAA to prohibit the charge carrier recombination and to improve the hole transport. An alternative small molecule organic HTM, MeO-TPD, was found to outperform spiro-OMeTAD in sDSCs due to its more efficient pore filling and higher hole-mobility. Moreover, an initial light soaking treatment was observed to significantly improve the device performance due to a mechanism of Li+ ion migration towards the TiO2 surface. In order to overcome the infiltration difficulty of conducting polymer HTMs, a state-of-the-art method to perform in-situ photoelectrochemical polymerization (PEP) in an aqueous micellar solution of bis-EDOT monomer was developed as an environmental-friendly alternative pathway with scale-up potential for constructing efficient sDSCs with polymer HTMs. Three different types of HTMs, namely DEH, spiro-OMeTAD and P3HT, were used to investigate the influence of HTMs on the charge recombination in CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite based sMSCs. The photovoltage decay measurements indicate that the electron lifetime (τn) of these devices decreases by one order of magnitude in the sequence τspiro-OMeTAD > τP3HT > τDEH.

Les cellules photovoltaïques hybrides sensibilisées « tout solide » (ssDSSC) sont considéréescomme une technologie émergente dans le domaine de l'énergie solaire afin de remplacer les cellules solaires classiques basées sur le silicium ou même celles utilisant un électrolyte liquide(DSSC). Dans ce but, nous nous sommes intéressés à l'élaboration de molécules p-conjuguées (verresmoléculaires) de type « p » pour une application dans les ssDSSCs.Le premier axe de cette étude a consisté à synthétiser deux familles de molécules à base detriphénylamine/thiéno[3,2-b]thiophène/ thiophène (avec et sans chaîne nonyle pour déterminerl'effet de la solubilité). Ces composés ont été obtenus par des couplages de Stille ou Suzuki avec des rendements globaux variant entre 11% et 37% (pour six à dix étapes).Dans le but de déterminer les propriétés physico-chimiques des composés obtenus, lesecond axe a été consacré aux caractérisations thermiques, optiques et électroniques des moléculessynthétisées. Les mesures thermiques par analyse thermogravimétrique (ATG) ont montré unestabilité des composés supérieure à 340°C. En outre, l'analyse thermique différentielle (DSC) apermis de déterminer la température de transition vitreuse (Tg), la plus élevée atteignant 57°C. Lesgaps optique et électronique ont été déterminés par absorption UV-Visible (entre 2,87eV à 2,41eV enfilm) ou voltampérométrie cyclique (entre 3,26eV à 2,60eV). Les niveaux énergétiques de la HOMO etLUMO ont également été déterminés par voltampérométrie cyclique. Ils ont montré des niveauxadéquats surtout pour celui de la HOMO (compris entre la HOMO du colorant et celle de la cathode)pour une application photovoltaïque. Enfin, les mesures de mobilité de trous ont mis en évidence desrésultats encourageants et prometteurs variant entre 10-3 cm2.V-1.s-1 et 1 cm2.V-1.s-1.Le troisième axe est consacré à l'étude théorique de ces molécules à l'aide de la modélisationmoléculaire. Les tendances obtenues pour les niveaux énergétiques (HOMO et LUMO), les gaps optiques, l'énergie de réorganisation interne (donnant une idée de la mobilité théorique de charges)recoupent assez bien les données expérimentales.Finalement, le dernier axe porte sur la détermination des performances photovoltaïques de ces composés. Pour l'un d'eux une efficacité de 0,5% a été obtenue sans optimisation et de manièredurable puisque cette efficacité reste inchangée après une année. Le taux de remplissage de cecomposé dans TiO2 atteint de 62 à 83%.Mots clés : Dispositifs photovoltaïques hybrides « tout solide » ssDSSC, triphénylamine, thiéno[3,2-b]thiophène, thiophène, verre moléculaire, modélisation moléculaire, taux de remplissage. / Solid state dye-sensitized solar cells (ssDSSC) are considered as an emerging technology in order to replace conventional silicon solar cells or even those using liquid electrolyte. In order to improve the performance of ssDSSC devices, we were interested by the development of star-shaped molecules derived from thieno[3,2-b]thiophene unit and triphenylamine core.Two series of new substituted triphenylamine (TPA) derivatives with thiophene and thieno[3,2-b]thiophene units (with and without nonyl group C9H19) were synthesized in a combinatorial manner. These compounds were obtained by Stille or Suzuki coupling with a yield between 11% and 37% (from six to ten steps).In order to determine the properties of these compounds, thermal, optical and electrochemical characterizations were carried out. The measurements by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed a high stability of the compounds above 340°C. Differential thermal analysis (DSC) was used to determine the glass transition temperature (Tg) where the highest reaching 57°C. The optical and electronic gaps were determined by UV-Visible absorption ( we found from 2.87 eV to 2.41 eV in film) or cyclic voltammetry (we found from 3.26 eV to 2.60 eV). The energy levels of HOMO and LUMO were also determined by cyclic voltammetry. They showed adequate levels especially for HOMO levels (ideally HOMO between the dye and that of the cathode) for a photovoltaic application. Finally, hole mobility have shown encouraging results and promising ranging from 10-3 cm2.V-1.s-1 and 1 cm2.V-1.s-1.The theoretical study of these molecules was also carried out using molecular modeling as B3LYP. The energy levels (HOMO and LUMO), the optical gaps, and the energy of internal reorganization (giving an idea of the theoretical charges mobility) have the seam trend overlap the experimental data.The photovoltaic performance of these compounds was performed. An efficiency of 0.5% (not optimized results) has been obtained for the best of them. This efficiency was sustainable after one year. The pore filling ratio of this compound in TiO2 reached from 62 to 83%.Keywords : Solid state dye-sensitized solar cells (ssDSSC), triphenylamine, thieno[3,2-b]thiophene, thiophene, molecular glasses, theoretical calculations, pore filling.

Ce projet de recherche mené en collaboration industrielle avec St-Jean Photochimie Inc. / PCAS Canada vise le développement et la caractérisation de dérivés dipyrrométhène pour des applications dans le domaine du photovoltaïque. La quête du récoltage des photons se situant dans le proche-infrarouge a été au centre des modifications structurales explorées afin d’augmenter l’efficacité de conversion des cellules solaires de type organique et à pigments photosensibles. Trois familles de composés intégrant le motif dipyrrométhène ont été synthétisées et caractérisées du point de vue spectroscopique, électrochimique, structural ainsi que par modélisation moléculaire afin d’établir des relations structures-propriétés. La première famille comporte six azadipyrrométhènes au potentiel de coordination tétradentate sur des centres métalliques. Le développement d’une nouvelle voie synthétique asymétrique combinée à l’utilisation d’une voie symétrique classique ont permis d’obtenir l’ensemble des combinaisons de substituants possibles sur les aryles proximaux incluant les noyaux 2-hydroxyphényle, 2-méthoxyphényle et 2- pyridyle. La modulation du maximum d’absorption dans le rouge a pu être faite entre 598 et 619 nm. De même, la présence de groupements méthoxyle ou hydroxyle augmente l’absorption dans le violet (~410 nm) tel que démontré par modélisation. La caractérisation électrochimique a montré que les dérivés tétradentates étaient en général moins stables aux processus redox que leur contre-parti bidentate. La deuxième famille comporte dix dérivés BODIPY fusionnés de façon asymétrique en position [b]. L’aryle proximal a été modifié de façon systématique afin de mieux comprendre l’impact des substituents riches en électron et de la fusion de cycles aromatiques. De plus, ces dérivés ont été mis en relation avec une vaste série de composés analogues. Les résultats empiriques ont montré que les propriétés optoélectroniques de la plateforme sont régies par le degré de communication électronique entre l’aryle proximal, le pyrrole sur lequel il est attaché et le noyau indolique adjacent à ce dernier. Les maximums d’absorption dans le rouge sont modulables entre 547 et 628 nm et la fluorescence des composés se situe dans le proche- infrarouge. L’un des composé s’est révélé souhaitable pour une utilisation en photovoltaïque ainsi qu’à titre de sonde à pH. La troisième famille comporte cinq complexes neutres de RuII basés sur des polypyridines et portant un ligand azadipyrrométhène cyclométalé. Les composés ont montré une forte absorption de photons dans la région de 600 à 800 nm (rouge à proche- infrarouge) et qui a pu être étendue au-delà de 1100 nm dans le cas des dérivés portant un ligand terpyridine. L’analyse des propriétés optoélectroniques de façon empirique et théorique a montré un impact significatif de la cyclométalation et ouvert la voie pour leur étude en tant que photosensibilisateurs en OPV et en DSSC. La capacité d’un des complexes à photo-injecter un électron dans la bande de conduction du semi-conducteur TiO2 a été démontré en collaboration avec le groupe du Pr Gerald J. Meyer à University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, premier pas vers une utilisation dans les cellules solaires à pigments photosensibles. La stabilité des complexes en solution s’est toutefois avérée problématique et des pistes de solutions sont suggérées basées sur les connaissances acquises dans le cadre de cette thèse. / This research project carried out in industrial collaboration with Saint-Jean Photochemicals Inc. / PCAS Canada aims at the development and characterization of dipyrromethene derivatives for photovoltaic applications. The quest for harvesting near- infrared photons was the central focus and various structural modifications were explored to improve the power conversion efficiency of organic and dye-sensitized solar cells (OPV and DSSC, respectively). Three families of chromophores which embedded a dipyrromethene motif were synthesized and characterized through spectroscopy, electrochemistry, X-ray diffraction and computationnal modelization in order to establish their structure-properties relationship. The first family includes six azadipyrromethenes with potential for tetradentate coordination on metallic centers. The development of a new asymmetric synthetic route together with the classical symmetric one allowed access to all possible combinations of derivatives including 2-hydroxyphenyl, 2-methoxyphenyl and 2-pyridyl substituents in the proximal position of the dipyrromethene. Modulation of the absorption maxima in the red ranged between 598 and 619 nm. Also, having methoxy or hydroxy substituents provided an increase of the violet absorption (~410 nm) as established by modelization. Electrochemical characterization showed that the tetradentate azadipyrromethenes were generally less stable towards redox processes as compared to their bidentate counter- parts. The second family includes ten asymmetric benzo[b]-fused BODIPYs where the proximal aryl was systematically modified in order to assess the impact of electron-rich substituents and fused aromatic cycles. The derivatives were further compared to a wide series of related BODIPYs. Empirical results showed the optoelectronic properties are dictated by the extend of electronic communication between the proximal aryl, the pyrrol to which it is attached and the adjacent indolic moiety. Absorption maxima in the red were modulated between 547 nm and 628 nm and the fluorescence was in the near-infrared. One compound proved to be a potential candidate for photovoltaic and pH probe applications. The third family includes five neutral RuII polypyridine complexes bearing a cyclometalated azadipyrromethene ligand. The compounds exhibit strong light absorption in the 600 – 800 nm range (red to near-infrared) that tails beyond 1100 nm in the terpyridine-based adducts. Analysis of the optoelectronic properties showed a significant impact of this novel cyclometalation strategy for dipyrromethene derivatives and paved the way for further incorporation of the resulting complexes as photosensitizers in OPV and DSSC. In collaboration with the group of Pr Gerald J. Meyer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the capacity of one compound to photo-inject its electron into the conduction band of the TiO2 semiconductor was established, a first step towards their use in dye-sensitized solar cells. The structural instability in solution of the complexes hindered their full potential for photovoltaic applications and suggestions to improve them are proposed based on the knowledge acquired in the course of this thesis.