Engineering Research Center of Environment-Friendly Functional Materials, Ministry of Education, Institute of Materials Physical Chemistry, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou 362021, Fujian, P. R. China.
Sci Rep. 2013;3:2058. doi: 10.1038/srep02058.
In order to enhance the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), a novel design is demonstrated by introducing rare-earth compound europium ion doped yttrium fluoride (YF₃:Eu³⁺) in TiO₂ film in the DSSC. As a conversion luminescence medium, YF₃:Eu³⁺ transfers ultraviolet light to visible light via down-conversion, and increases incident harvest and photocurrent of DSSC. As a p-type dopant, Eu³⁺ elevates the Fermi level of TiO₂ film and thus heightens photovoltage of the DSSC. The conversion luminescence and p-type doping effect are demonstrated by photoluminescence spectra and Mott-Schottky plots. When the ratio of YF₃:Eu³⁺/TiO₂ in the doping layer is optimized as 5 wt.%, the light-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of the DSSC reaches 7.74%, which is increased by 32% compared to that of the DSSC without YF₃:Eu³⁺ doping. Double functions of doped rare-earth compound provide a new route for enhancing the photovoltaic performance of solar cells.
为了提高染料敏化太阳能电池（DSSC）的光伏性能，通过在 TiO2 薄膜中引入稀土化合物铕离子掺杂的氟化钇（YF3:Eu3+），展示了一种新的设计。作为一种转换发光介质，YF3:Eu3+通过下转换将紫外光转化为可见光，增加了 DSSC 的光捕获和光电流。作为 p 型掺杂剂，Eu3+提高了 TiO2 薄膜的费米能级，从而提高了 DSSC 的光电压。通过光致发光光谱和 Mott-Schottky 图证明了转换发光和 p 型掺杂效应。当掺杂层中 YF3:Eu3+/TiO2 的比例优化为 5wt.%时，DSSC 的光电能量转换效率达到 7.74%，与未掺杂 YF3:Eu3+的 DSSC 相比，提高了 32%。掺杂稀土化合物的双重功能为提高太阳能电池的光伏性能提供了新途径。
