Ricerc@Sapienza

Squaraines are full-organic dyes employed as sensitizers in ptype dye-sensitized solar cells (p-DSSC). Their absorption spectrum shows a wide tunability that ranges from visible to NIR. Sensitization in the NIR region is crucial for exploiting a particularly intense portion of the solar spectrum. In this work three squaraines will be presented and tested as sensitizers in NiO-based p-type DSSC O4_C2, O4_C4 and O4_C12). The structures of the dyes differ for the length of the alkyl side chain (C2, C4 and C12).

We report the synthesis of a novel squaraine dye (VG21-C12) and investigate its behavior
as p-type sensitizer for p-type Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. The results are compared
with O4-C12, a well-known sensitizer for p-DSC, and sodium hydroxide pretreatment
is described as an effective approach to reduce the dye/holes recombination. Various
variable investigation such as dipping time, dye loading, photocurrent, and resulting cell
efficiency are also reported. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was utilized