The mechanism behind the beneficial effect of light soaking on injection efficiency and photocurrent in dye sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Electrical and luminescence characterization was performed on 16 dye sensitized solar cells with different formulations, from different industrial and academic sources. Most of the cells were fabricated in pre-industrial pilot lines. The cells were put through a light soaking period up to 150 hours and then re-characterized. The results show the commonly observed increase in J_sc with light soaking is due to a decrease in the conduction band energy (with respect to the electrolyte) and an increase in the injection rate and efficiency. The strong correlation between the luminescence decay lifetime (<200 ps to 5 ns) and the photocurrent (7 to 13 mA cm⁻²) shows that the luminescence decay is a useful monitor of injection rates in these cells. The very slow injection shown by some cells implies substantial losses at the injection step. The data point to a need to understand and improve the TiO₂ processing and dyeing conditions in the industrial setting as well as the need to focus injection studies on the full range of dynamics present in the cells.