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Zulfiqar A, Akhter MS, Waqas M, Bhatti IA, Imran M, Shawky AM, Shaban M, Alotaibi HF, Mahal A, Ashour A, Duan M, S Alshomrany A, Khera RA. Engineering of the Central Core on DBD-Based Materials with Improved Power-Conversion Efficiency by Using the DFT Approach. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:29205-29225. [PMID: 39005764 PMCID: PMC11238312 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
Developing proficient organic solar cells with improved optoelectronic properties is still a matter of concern. In the current study, with an aspiration to boost the optoelectronic properties and proficiency of organic solar cells, seven new small-molecule acceptors (Db1-Db7) are presented by altering the central core of the reference molecule (DBD-4F). The optoelectronic aspects of DBD-4F and Db1-Db7 molecules were explored using the density functional theory (DFT) approach, and solvent-state calculations were assessed utilizing TD-SCF simulations. It was noted that improvement in photovoltaic features was achieved by designing these molecules. The results revealed a bathochromic shift in absorption maxima (λmax) of designed molecules reaching up to 776 nm compared to 736 nm of DBD-4F. Similarly, a narrow band gap, low excitation energy, and reduced binding energy were also observed in newly developed molecules in comparison with the pre-existing DBD-4F molecule. Performance improvement can be indicated by the high light-harvesting efficiency (LHE) of designed molecules (ranging from 0.9992 to 0.9996 eV) compared to the reference having a 0.9991 eV LHE. Db4 and Db5 exhibited surprisingly improved open-circuit voltage (V OC) values up to 1.64 and 1.67 eV and a fill factor of 0.9198 and 0.9210, respectively. Consequently, these newly designed molecules can be considered in the future for practical use in manufacturing OSCs with improved optoelectronic and photovoltaic attributes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aamna Zulfiqar
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Salim Akhter
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Bahrain, Sakhir 32028, Bahrain
| | - Muhammad Waqas
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
| | - Ijaz Ahmad Bhatti
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Imran
- Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Khalid University (KKU), P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed M Shawky
- Science and Technology Unit (STU), Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed Shaban
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Madinah, Madinah 42351, Saudi Arabia
- Nanophotonics and Applications (NPA) Lab, Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62514, Egypt
| | - Hadil Faris Alotaibi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint AbdulRahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed Mahal
- Department of Medical Biochemical Analysis, College of Health Technology, Cihan University-Erbil, Erbil 44001, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
| | - Adel Ashour
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Madinah, Madinah 42351, Saudi Arabia
| | - Meitao Duan
- School of Pharmacy, Xiamen Medical College, Xiamen 361023, P. R. China
- Research Center for Sustained and Controlled Release Agents, Xiamen Medical College, Xiamen 361023, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Functional and Clinical Translational Medicine, Fujian Province University, Xiamen Medical College, Xiamen 361023, P. R. China
| | - Ali S Alshomrany
- Department of Physics, College of Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Al Taif HWY, Mecca 24381, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rasheed Ahmad Khera
- Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
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Al-Atawi FH, Irfan A, Al-Sehemi AG. Unveiling the potential of TPA-based molecules to tune the optoelectronic properties and enhance the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells. J Mol Model 2024; 30:197. [PMID: 38836952 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-024-05975-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
CONTEXT The world's energy and environmental requirements are changing due to rapid population growth and industrial growth, and solar cells can be used to meet these demands. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are solar cells in which energy conversion occurs via a process similar to photosynthesis in plants. DSSC development is still in its infancy. DSSCs can operate under cloudy conditions and indirect sunlight and have attracted considerable attention due to their low cost and high efficiency. We designed two metal-free TPA-based dyes (Dye2 and Dye3) based on the reference dye Mg207 (Dye1) by increasing the donor strength of the molecule, as such dyes have shown enhanced efficiency in DSSCs. Moreover, the triphenylamine (TPA) moiety has been demonstrated to be a good donor that prevents charge recombination. Intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) from the donor to acceptor moiety was found in the sensitizers, and electrons were promoted to the conduction band (CB) of the TiO2 semiconductor. The negative binding energy of the dye@TiO2 clusters indicated that dye adsorption on the semiconductor surface was stable. The double donor increased the electron injection and electronic coupling constants in Dye2 and Dye3, indicating that these newly designed dyes have superior charge injection capacity. Accordingly, the efficiencies of DSSCs with Dye2 and Dye3 were 9.77% and 9.62%, respectively, and substitution with the TPA unit at the -R1 and -R2 positions in Dye1 resulted in better power conversion compared to the parent compound (9.09%). Increased donor strength improved photovoltaic performance by increasing current density and light-harvesting efficiency. This is a good molecular design approach for preparing targeted donor- π -acceptor (D- π -A) organic dyes with high DSSC efficiency. METHODS To predict the charge transport and optoelectronic characteristics of the TPA dyes, quantum chemical calculations were carried out using Gaussian16. The ground-state (S0) optimized geometries of the sensitizers were computed by utilizing DFT at the B3LYP/6-31G** level. The absorption spectra ( λ max) were computed by employing TD-DFT with various functionals (B3LYP, PBE1PBE, CAM-B3LYP, and BHandHLYP) in the gas and solvent (DCM) phases. Among the studied functionals, BHandHLYP was found to be best at successfully reproducing the experimental data. Thus, the absorption spectra of the newly designed dyes and dye@TiO2 were calculated at the BHandHLYP/6-31G** level. The dye@TiO2 cluster optimizations were carried out at the B3LYP/6-31G**(LANL2DZ) level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faoz H Al-Atawi
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, 61413, Abha, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmad Irfan
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, 61413, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Abdullah G Al-Sehemi
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, 61413, Abha, Saudi Arabia
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Computational analysis of the structural, optoelectronic and photovoltaic properties of triphenylamine-based dyes and their interaction with TiO2 / Iodine. RESEARCH ON CHEMICAL INTERMEDIATES 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s11164-023-04988-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
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Ennehary S, Toufik H, Bouzzine SM, Lazrak M, Lamchouri F. Theoretical investigation for dye-sensitized solar cells: effect of donor variation on the optoelectronic properties and charge transfer parameters. RESEARCH ON CHEMICAL INTERMEDIATES 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s11164-023-04971-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
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Ibrahim AR, Al-Saadi BS, Husband J, Ismail AH, Baqi Y, Abou-Zied OK. Electron transfer from a new chalcone dye to TiO2 nanoparticles: Synthesis, photophysics, and excited-state dynamics. J Mol Struct 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.134012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Kim D, Efe I, Torlakcik H, Terzopoulou A, Veciana A, Siringil E, Mushtaq F, Franco C, von Arx D, Sevim S, Puigmartí-Luis J, Nelson B, Spaldin NA, Gattinoni C, Chen XZ, Pané S. Magnetoelectric Effect in Hydrogen Harvesting: Magnetic Field as a Trigger of Catalytic Reactions. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2022; 34:e2110612. [PMID: 35276030 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202110612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Revised: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Magnetic fields have been regarded as an additional stimulus for electro- and photocatalytic reactions, but not as a direct trigger for catalytic processes. Multiferroic/magnetoelectric materials, whose electrical polarization and surface charges can be magnetically altered, are especially suitable for triggering and control of catalytic reactions solely with magnetic fields. Here, it is demonstrated that magnetic fields can be employed as an independent input energy source for hydrogen harvesting by means of the magnetoelectric effect. Composite multiferroic CoFe2 O4 -BiFeO3 core-shell nanoparticles act as catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which is triggered when an alternating magnetic field is applied to an aqueous dispersion of the magnetoelectric nanocatalysts. Based on density functional calculations, it is proposed that the hydrogen evolution is driven by changes in the ferroelectric polarization direction of BiFeO3 caused by the magnetoelectric coupling. It is believed that the findings will open new avenues toward magnetically induced renewable energy harvesting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donghoon Kim
- Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland
| | - Ipek Efe
- Materials Theory, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, Zürich, 8093, Switzerland
| | - Harun Torlakcik
- Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland
| | - Anastasia Terzopoulou
- Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Veciana
- Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland
| | - Erdem Siringil
- Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland
| | - Fajer Mushtaq
- Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland
| | - Carlos Franco
- Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland
| | - Denis von Arx
- Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland
| | - Semih Sevim
- Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland
| | - Josep Puigmartí-Luis
- Departament de Ciència dels Materials i Química Física, Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, 08028, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Pg. Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona, 08010, Spain
| | - Bradley Nelson
- Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland
| | - Nicola A Spaldin
- Materials Theory, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, Zürich, 8093, Switzerland
| | - Chiara Gattinoni
- Materials Theory, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, Zürich, 8093, Switzerland
- Department of Chemical and Energy Engineering, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Rd, London, SE1 0AA, UK
| | - Xiang-Zhong Chen
- Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland
| | - Salvador Pané
- Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 3, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland
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Alnoman RB, Nabil E, Parveen S, Hagar M, Zakaria M. UV-selective organic absorbers for the cosensitization of greenhouse-integrated dye-sensitized solar cells: synthesis and computational study. RSC Adv 2022; 12:11420-11435. [PMID: 35425028 PMCID: PMC9002619 DOI: 10.1039/d2ra01099b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecular cosensitization is favorable for manipulating solar radiation through the judicious choice of cosensitizers having complementary absorption spectra. For greenhouse-integrated dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), the manipulation of solar radiation is crucial in order to maximize the flow of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) for the effectual photosynthetic activity of plants; meanwhile, non-PAR is utilized in agrivoltaics for generating electricity. In this study, we report the synthesis of novel four UV-selective absorbers, based on the diimide scaffold, functionalized with carboxylate and pyridyl anchoring groups, for adequate adsorption onto the TiO2 electrode in DSC. The UV/Vis absorption spectra of the DMF solution-based free dyes were measured experimentally. Basic photophysical and energetics requirements for operating greenhouse-integrated DSCs were examined at the molecular level via (time-dependent) density functional theory-based calculations. The computational results revealed the outperformance of the biphenyldiimide-structured DI-CA1 dye, especially for maximum charge transferred to its anchor, lower thermodynamic barrier for dissociating the photogenerated exciton, largest Stokes' shift, strong electronic coupling with TiO2 nanoparticles, and higher degree of charge separation at the DI-CA1/TiO2 interface. PDOS showed deeper existence for the LUMO level in the CB of TiO2, which expedites the electron injection process. The chemical and optical compatibility of DI-CA1 were then investigated as a potential cosensitizer of a reference BTD-DTP1, a green light-absorbing dye. Considerable overlap between the fluorescence spectrum of DI-CA1 and absorption spectrum of the reference BTD-DTP1 advocated the opportunity of excitation energy transfer via the radiative trivial reabsorption mechanism, which confirms the cosensitization functionality. Energy decomposition analysis and reduced density gradient maps estimated the chemical compatibility owing to weak dispersion interactions as the dominant stabilizing attractive force. This noncovalent functionalization retains the chemical compatibility without distorting the π-π conjugation and the associated physicochemical properties of the individual dye molecules. Along with the expanded consumption of non-photosynthetically active solar radiation, an improved power conversion efficiency of greenhouse-integrated DSC is accordingly expected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rua B Alnoman
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Taibah University Yanbu 46423 Saudi Arabia
| | - Eman Nabil
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University Alexandria 21321 Egypt
| | - Shazia Parveen
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Taibah University Yanbu 46423 Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed Hagar
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Taibah University Yanbu 46423 Saudi Arabia.,Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University Alexandria 21321 Egypt
| | - Mohamed Zakaria
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University Alexandria 21321 Egypt
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Alnoman RB, Nabil E, Parveen S, Hagar M, Zakaria M, Hasanein AA. Synthesis and Computational Characterization of Organic UV-Dyes for Cosensitization of Transparent Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. Molecules 2021; 26:7336. [PMID: 34885926 PMCID: PMC8658785 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26237336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 11/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The fabrication of colorless and see-through dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) requires the photosensitizers to have little or no absorption in the visible light region of the solar spectrum. However, a trade-off between transparency and power conversion efficiency (PCE) has to be tackled, since most transparent DSCs are showing low PCE when compared to colorful and opaque DSCs. One strategy to increase PCE is applying two cosensitizers with selective conversion of the UV and NIR radiation, therefore, the non-visible part only is absorbed. In this study, we report synthesis of novel five UV-selective absorbers, based on diimide and Schiff bases incorporating carboxyl and pyridyl anchoring groups. A systematic computational investigation using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT approaches was employed to evaluate their prospect of application in transparent DSCs. Experimental UV/Vis absorption spectra showed that all dyes exhibit an absorption band covering the mid/near-UV region of solar spectrum, with a bathochromic shift and a hyperchromic shifts for Py-1 dye. Computational results showed that the studied dyes satisfied the basic photophysical and energetics requirements of operating DSC as well as the stability and thermodynamical spontaneity of adsorption onto surface of TiO2. However, results revealed outperformance of the thienothiophene core-containing Py-1 UV-dye, owing to its advantageous structural attributes, improved conjugation, intense emission, large Stokes shift and maximum charge transferred to the anchor. Chemical compatibility of Py-1 dye was then theoretically investigated as a potential cosensitizer of a reference VG20-C2 NIR-dye. By the judicious selection of pyridyl anchor-based UV-absorber (Py-1) and carboxyl anchor-based NIR-absorber (VG20), the advantage of the optical complementarity and selectivity of different TiO2-adsorption-site (Lewis- and Bronsted-acidic) can be achieved. An improved overall PCE is estimated accordingly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rua B. Alnoman
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Yanbu 4642, Saudi Arabia; (R.B.A.); (S.P.)
| | - Eman Nabil
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, Egypt; (M.Z.); (A.A.H.)
| | - Shazia Parveen
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Yanbu 4642, Saudi Arabia; (R.B.A.); (S.P.)
| | - Mohamed Hagar
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Yanbu 4642, Saudi Arabia; (R.B.A.); (S.P.)
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, Egypt; (M.Z.); (A.A.H.)
| | - Mohamed Zakaria
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, Egypt; (M.Z.); (A.A.H.)
| | - Ahmed A. Hasanein
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, Egypt; (M.Z.); (A.A.H.)
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Nabil E, Hasanein AA, Alnoman RB, Zakaria M. Optimizing the Cosensitization Effect of SQ02 Dye on BP-2 Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: A Computational Quantum Chemical Study. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:5098-5116. [PMID: 34587740 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Cosensitization of the semiconducting electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), with two or more light-harvesting dyes, is a chemical fabrication method that aims to achieve a panchromatic absorption spectrum emulating that of the solar emission spectrum. In this paper, SQ02 and BP-2 cosensitizers have been investigated, as isolated monomers/dimer and adsorbed monomers/dimer on the TiO2 (101) anatase surface, by employing density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations. Computed results showed that the dominant electron injection pathway is direct injection from each dye into the conduction band of TiO2. The almost complete spectral overlap between the simulated absorption spectrum of BP-2 and fluorescence emissions of SQ02 implies that excitation energy transfer occurs between cosensitizers via the trivial reabsorption mechanism. However, the results showed very limited unidirectional intermolecular charge transfer (CT) from SQ02 dye to BP-2 dye (0.04 |e-|). Therefore, this study also presents a stepwise molecular engineering of BP-2 dye, aiming at optimizing the cosensitization functionality. First, 14 redesigned dye candidates are reported to identify dyes with photophysical properties matching the requirements for efficient DSCs. Second, the four most promising dyes are shortlisted for testing as cosensitizers with the SQ02 dye. The molecular design factors of cosensitization that need validation are chemical compatibility, availability of CT between cosensitizers, and complementarity of the absorption spectra. This screening suggests the judicious choice of the modeled difluorenyl amine donor-based dye (BP-D4) as a very promising cosensitizer. In particular, the SQ02/BP-D4 dimer showed 10 times larger (0.53 |e-|) unidirectional CT than that of SQ02/BP-2 dimer, in addition to the maximum increased electron population of acceptor moieties upon photoexcitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eman Nabil
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, Egypt
| | - Ahmed A Hasanein
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, Egypt
| | - Rua B Alnoman
- Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Taibah University, Yanbu 56423, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed Zakaria
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, Egypt
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Benzocarbazole-based D–Di–π–A dyes for DSSCs: DFT/TD-DFT study of influence of auxiliary donors on the performance of free dye and dye–TiO2 interface. RESEARCH ON CHEMICAL INTERMEDIATES 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11164-021-04531-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Phan K, De Meester S, Raes K, De Clerck K, Van Speybroeck V. A Comparative Study on the Photophysical Properties of Anthocyanins and Pyranoanthocyanins. Chemistry 2021; 27:5956-5971. [PMID: 33453093 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202004639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Anthocyanins and pyranoanthocyanins are flavonoids that are present in various food products (e.g., fruit, vegetables, wine, etc.). The large chemical diversity amongst these molecules leads to compound-specific properties such as color and stability towards external conditions. These properties are also attractive for food and non-food applications. The photophysical experimental characterization is not easy as this generally demands advanced analytical techniques along with optimized separation procedures. Molecular modeling can provide insights into the fundamental understanding of the photophysical properties of these compounds in a uniform way for a broad set of compounds. However, the current literature is quite fragmented on this topic. Herein, a large set of 140 naturally derived anthocyanins was evaluated in a systematic way with three functionals (B3LYP, PBE0, and CAM-B3LYP). The accuracy of these functionals was determined with experimental literature λmax,vis values. In addition to λmax,vis values, time-dependent (TD)-DFT calculations also provided oscillator strengths, molar absorption coefficients, and orbital energies, which define whether specific natural anthocyanin-based compounds can be deployed in food and non-food applications such as food additives/colorants, textile dyeing, analytical standards, and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Phan
- Laboratory for Circular Process Engineering (LCPE), Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Campus Kortrijk, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, 8500, Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - Steven De Meester
- Laboratory for Circular Process Engineering (LCPE), Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Campus Kortrijk, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, 8500, Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - Katleen Raes
- Research Unit VEG-i-TEC, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Ghent University Campus Kortrijk, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, 8500, Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - Karen De Clerck
- Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering (MaTCh), Ghent University, Technologiepark 70A, 9052, Zwijnaarde, Belgium
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Zárate Hernández LA, Camacho-Mendoza RL, González-Montiel S, Cruz-Borbolla J. The chemical reactivity and QSPR of organic compounds applied to dye-sensitized solar cells using DFT. J Mol Graph Model 2021; 104:107852. [PMID: 33556645 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2021.107852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The structural and electronic properties were calculated for seventy organic compounds used as dye sensitizers in solar cells, applying the B3LYP exchange-correlation energy functional with the 6-311G∗∗ basis set. Moreover, the present study proposes two new quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) models that enable the prediction of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and maximum absorption wavelength (λmax) of these systems, the two QSPR models were validated using the coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.62 for both models with the leave-one-out cross-validation correlation coefficient (Q2LOO) of 0.55 and 0.57, respectively. Furthermore, applicability domain analysis was conducted in order to identify the related compounds via the extrapolation of the model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis A Zárate Hernández
- Área Académica de Química, Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Autónoma Del Estado de Hidalgo, Km. 14.5 Carretera Pachuca-Tulancingo, Ciudad Del Conocimiento, C.P. 42184, Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo, Mexico
| | - Rosa L Camacho-Mendoza
- Área Académica de Química, Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Autónoma Del Estado de Hidalgo, Km. 14.5 Carretera Pachuca-Tulancingo, Ciudad Del Conocimiento, C.P. 42184, Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo, Mexico
| | - Simplicio González-Montiel
- Área Académica de Química, Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Autónoma Del Estado de Hidalgo, Km. 14.5 Carretera Pachuca-Tulancingo, Ciudad Del Conocimiento, C.P. 42184, Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo, Mexico
| | - Julián Cruz-Borbolla
- Área Académica de Química, Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Autónoma Del Estado de Hidalgo, Km. 14.5 Carretera Pachuca-Tulancingo, Ciudad Del Conocimiento, C.P. 42184, Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo, Mexico.
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Efe I, Spaldin NA, Gattinoni C. On the happiness of ferroelectric surfaces and its role in water dissociation: The example of bismuth ferrite. J Chem Phys 2021; 154:024702. [PMID: 33445895 DOI: 10.1063/5.0033897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
We investigate, using density functional theory, how the interaction between the ferroelectric polarization and the chemical structure of the (001) surfaces of bismuth ferrite influences the surface properties and reactivity of this material. A precise understanding of the surface behavior of ferroelectrics is necessary for their use in surface science applications such as catalysis as well as for their incorporation in microelectronic devices. Using the (001) surface of bismuth ferrite as a model system, we show that the most energetically favored surface geometries are combinations of surface termination and polarization direction that lead to uncharged stable surfaces. On the unfavorable charged surfaces, we explore the compensation mechanisms of surface charges provided by the introduction of point defects and adsorbates, such as water. Finally, we propose that the special surface properties of bismuth ferrite (001) could be used to produce an effective water splitting cycle through cyclic polarization switching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ipek Efe
- Materials Theory, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Nicola A Spaldin
- Materials Theory, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Chiara Gattinoni
- Materials Theory, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
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Xu F, Testoff TT, Wang L, Zhou X. Cause, Regulation and Utilization of Dye Aggregation in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. Molecules 2020; 25:E4478. [PMID: 33003462 PMCID: PMC7582523 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25194478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
As an important member of third generation solar cell, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have the advantages of being low cost, having an easy fabrication process, utilizing rich raw materials and a high-power conversion efficiency (PCE), prompting nearly three decades as a research hotspot. Recently, increasing the photoelectric conversion efficiency of DSSCs has proven troublesome. Sensitizers, as the most important part, are no longer limited to molecular engineering, and the regulation of dye aggregation has become a widely held concern, especially in liquid DSSCs. This review first presents the operational mechanism of liquid and solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells, including the influencing factors of various parameters on device efficiency. Secondly, the mechanism of dye aggregation was explained by molecular exciton theory, and the influence of various factors on dye aggregation was summarized. We focused on a review of several methods for regulating dye aggregation in liquid and solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells, and the advantages and disadvantages of these methods were analyzed. In addition, the important application of quantum computational chemistry in the study of dye aggregation was introduced. Finally, an outlook was proposed that utilizing the advantages of dye aggregation by combining molecular engineering with dye aggregation regulation is a research direction to improve the performance of liquid DSSCs in the future. For solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (ssDSSCs), the effects of solid electrolytes also need to be taken into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Xu
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300345, China; (F.X.); (L.W.)
| | - Thomas T. Testoff
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Materials Technology Center, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA;
| | - Lichang Wang
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300345, China; (F.X.); (L.W.)
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Materials Technology Center, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA;
| | - Xueqin Zhou
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300345, China; (F.X.); (L.W.)
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Density Functional Theory-Based Molecular Modeling: Verification of Decisive Roles of Van der Waals Aggregation of Triiodide Ions for Effective Electron Transfer in Wet-Type N3-Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. ENERGIES 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/en13113027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Density functional theory-based molecular modeling (DFT/MM) validates that KI and I2 undergo exothermic van der Waals (vdW) aggregation in acetonitrile (AN) or in the presence of 4-tert-butylpyridine (TBP), forming potassium triiodide (KI3) and, further mutual vdW aggregation leads to the formation of (KI3)2 and AN, (KI3)2 and (AN)2 and (KI3)2 and TBP in the AN-based Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) electrolytes. All KI3 aggregates have a very low energy gap, 0.17 eV, 0.14 eV and 0.05 eV of lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) + 1 and LUMO, respectively, verifying efficient electron diffusion in μm-thick DSSC electrolytes. Hydrogen-bonding aggregation of anatase TiO2 model, Ti9O18H and OH, with N3 (proton) dye is also validated by DFT/MM, and the energy structure verifies unidirectional electron flow from highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) on thiocyanide (SCN) groups of N3 dye to LUMO on the TiO2 model at the aggregates. Further, DFT/MM for the aggregation of K+I3− with N3 verifies the most exothermic formation of the aggregate of N3 (proton) and K+I3−. The UV-Vis spectra of N3 (proton) and K+I3− is consistent with reported incident photocurrent efficiency (IPCE) action spectra (λ = 450–800 nm) of N3-sensitized DSSC, verifying that the N3 dye of N3 (proton) and K+I3− becomes an effective sensitizer in the anode / TiO2 / N3 (proton) / KI/I2 / acetonitrile (AN) / cathode structured DSSC. The energy structure of LUMO and LUMO + 1 of the aggregates, Ti9O18H and OH and N3 (proton), N3 and K+I3−, (KI3)2 and AN and (KI3)2 and TBP verifies high IPCE photocurrent and effective electron diffusion via KI3-aggregates in the DSSC of Ti9O18H and OH and N3 (proton) and K+I3−.
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Theoretical and Conceptual Framework to Design Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs): Molecular Engineering by DFT Method. J CLUST SCI 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10876-020-01783-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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17
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Synthesis, characterization, computational and biological studies of nitrothiazole incorporated heterocyclic azo dyes. Struct Chem 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11224-020-01493-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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18
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Arunkumar A, Shanavas S, Acevedo R, Anbarasan PM. Acceptor tuning effect on TPA-based organic efficient sensitizers for optoelectronic applications—quantum chemical investigation. Struct Chem 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11224-019-01484-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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