Claims
- 1. A photosensitizing agent for a photovoltaic cell, the photosensitizing agent comprising:
a sensitizing dye for receiving electromagnetic energy; and a co-sensitizer comprising a coordinating group for co-adsorbing with the sensitizing dye on a surface.
- 2. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein the sensitizing dye comprises cis-bis(isothiocyanato)bis(2,2′-bipyridyl-4,4′-dicarboxylato)-ruthenium(II).
- 3. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises an aromatic amine.
- 4. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises a carbazole.
- 5. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises diphenylaminobenzoic acid.
- 6. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises 2,6bis(4-benzoicacid)-4-(4-N,N-diphenylamino)phenylpyridine carboxylic acid.
- 7. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises N′,N-diphenylaminophenylpropionic acid.
- 8. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein the coordinating group comprises a carboxy derivative.
- 9. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein the coordinating group comprises a phosphate group.
- 10. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein the coordinating group comprises a chelating group.
- 11. The photosensitizing agent of claim 10, wherein the chelating group comprises an oxime.
- 12. The photosensitizing agent of claim 10, wherein the chelating group comprises an alpha-ketoenolate.
- 13. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein the concentration of the co-sensitizer is below about 50 mol % of the sensitizing dye concentration.
- 14. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein the concentration of the co-sensitizer is between about 1 mol % and about 20 mol % of the sensitizing dye concentration.
- 15. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein, the concentration of the co-sensitizer is between about 1 mol % and about 5 mol % of the sensitizing dye concentration.
- 16. The photosensitizing agent of claim 1, wherein the ratio of the concentration the sensitizing dye to the co-sensitizer is 20/1.
- 17. A photosensitized nanoparticle layer in a photovoltaic cell, the layer comprising:
a sensitizing dye for receiving electromagnetic energy; a co-sensitizer including a coordinating group; and an interconnected nanoparticle material comprising a surface for co-absorbing the sensitizing dye and the co-sensitizer to form a photosensitized nanoparticle layer.
- 18. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the photosensitized nanoparticle layer comprises semiconductor oxide nanoparticles.
- 19. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the sensitizing dye comprises cis-bis(isothiocyanato)bis(2,2′-bipyridyl-4,4′-dicarboxylato)-ruthenium(II).
- 20. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises an aromatic amine.
- 21. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises a carbazole.
- 22. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises diphenylaminobenzoic acid.
- 23. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises 2,6bis(4-benzoicacid)-4-(4-N,N-diphenylamino)phenylpyridine carboxylic acid.
- 24. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises N′,N-diphenylaminophenylpropionic acid.
- 25. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the coordinating group comprises a carboxy derivative.
- 26. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the coordinating group comprises a phosphate group.
- 27. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the coordinating group comprises a chelating group.
- 28. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 27, wherein the chelating group comprises an oxime.
- 29. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 27, wherein the chelating group comprises an alpha-ketoenolate.
- 30. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the concentration of the co-sensitizer is below about 50 mol % of the sensitizing dye concentration.
- 31. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the concentration of the co-sensitizer is between about 1 mol % and about 20 mol % of the sensitizing dye concentration.
- 32. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the concentration of the co-sensitizer is between about 1 mol % and about 5 mol % of the sensitizing dye concentration.
- 33. The photosensitized nanoparticle layer of claim 17, wherein the ratio of the concentration the sensitizing dye to the co-sensitizer is 20/1.
- 34. A method of forming a photosensitized nanoparticle layer in a photovoltaic cell, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a sensitizing dye for receiving electromagnetic energy; co-adsorbing a co-sensitizer including a coordinating group on a surface of an interconnected nanoparticle material to form a photosensitized nanoparticle layer.
- 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the photosensitized nanoparticle layer comprises semiconductor oxide nanoparticles.
- 36. The method of claim 34, wherein the sensitizing dye comprises cis-bis(isothio-cyanato)bis(2,2′-bipyridyl-4,4′-dicarboxylato)-ruthenium(II).
- 37. The method of claim 34, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises an aromatic amine.
- 38. The method of claim 34, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises a carbazole.
- 39. The method of claim 34, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises diphenylaminobenzoic acid.
- 40. The method of claim 34, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises 2,6bis(4-benzoicacid)-4-(4-N,N-diphenylamino)phenylpyridine carboxylic acid.
- 41. The method of claim 34, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises N′,N-diphenylamino-phenylpropionic acid.
- 42. The method of claim 34, wherein the coordinating group comprises a carboxy derivative.
- 43. The method of claim 34, wherein the coordinating group comprises a phosphate group.
- 44. The method of claim 34, wherein the coordinating group comprises a chelating group.
- 45. The method of claim 44, wherein the chelating group comprises an oxime.
- 46. The method of claim 44, wherein the chelating group comprises an alpha-ketoenolate.
- 47. The method of claim 34, wherein the concentration of the co-sensitizer is below about 50 mol % of the sensitizing dye concentration.
- 48. The method of claim 34, wherein the concentration of the co-sensitizer is between about 1 mol % and about 20 mol % of the sensitizing dye concentration.
- 49. The method of claim 34, wherein the concentration of the co-sensitizer is between about 1 mol % and about 5 mol % of the sensitizing dye concentration.
- 50. The method of claim 34, wherein the ratio of the concentration the sensitizing dye to the co-sensitizer is 20/1.
- 51. A flexible photovoltaic cell comprising:
a photosensitized interconnected nanoparticle material comprising (i) a sensitizing dye for receiving electromagnetic energy and (ii) a co-sensitizer including a coordinating group, both adsorbed on a surface of an interconnected nanoparticle material; first and second flexible, significantly light transmitting substrates; and a charge carrier material, the charge carrier material and the photosensitized interconnected nanoparticle material both being disposed between the first and second flexible, significantly light transmitting substrates.
- 52. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the sensitizing dye comprises cis-bis(isothio-cyanato)bis(2,2′-bipyridyl-4,4′-dicarboxylato)-ruthenium(II).
- 53. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises an aromatic amine.
- 54. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises a carbazole.
- 55. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises diphenylaminobenzoic acid.
- 56. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises 2,6bis(4-benzoicacid)-4-(4-N,N-diphenylamino)phenylpyridine carboxylic acid.
- 57. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the co-sensitizer comprises N′,N-diphenylaminophenylpropionic acid.
- 58. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the coordinating group comprises a carboxy derivative.
- 59. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the coordinating group comprises a phosphate group.
- 60. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the coordinating group comprises a chelating group.
- 61. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 60, wherein the chelating group comprises an oxime.
- 62. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 60, wherein the chelating group comprises an alpha-ketoenolate.
- 63. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the concentration of the co-sensitizer is below about 50 mol % of the sensitizing dye concentration.
- 64. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the concentration of the co-sensitizer is between about 1 mol % and about 20 mol % of the sensitizing dye concentration.
- 65. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the concentration of the co-sensitizer is between about 1 mol % and about 5 mol % of the sensitizing dye concentration.
- 66. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the ratio of the concentration the sensitizing dye to the co-sensitizer is 20/1.
- 67. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the photosensitized interconnected nanoparticle material comprises nanoparticles linked by a polymeric linking agent.
- 68. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the photosensitized interconnected nanoparticle material comprises particles with an average size substantially in the range of 10 nm to 40 nm.
- 69. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the photosensitized interconnected nanoparticle material comprises interconnected titanium dioxide nanoparticles.
- 70. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the photosensitized interconnected nanoparticle material is selected from the group consisting of zirconium oxides, zinc oxides, tungsten oxides, niobium oxides, lanthanum oxides, tin oxides, terbium oxides, tantalum oxides, and combinations thereof.
- 71. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the charge carrier material comprises an electrolyte redox system.
- 72. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the charge carrier material comprises a polymeric electrolyte.
- 73. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein the charge carrier material transmits at least about 60% of incident visible light.
- 74. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, wherein at least one of the first and second flexible, significantly light transmitting substrates comprises a polyethylene terephthalate material.
- 75. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, further comprising a catalytic media layer disposed between the first and second flexible, significantly light transmitting substrates.
- 76. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 75, wherein the catalytic media layer comprises platinum.
- 77. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 51, further comprising an electrical conductor material disposed on at least one of the first and second flexible, significantly light transmitting substrates.
- 78. The flexible photovoltaic cell of claim 77, wherein the electrical conductor material comprises indium tin oxide.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefits of and priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/057,394 filed on Jan. 25, 2002, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/351,691 filed on Jan. 25, 2002, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/368,832 filed on Mar. 29, 2002, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/400,289 filed on Jul. 31, 2002, all of which are owned by the assignee of the instant application and the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Provisional Applications (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60351691 |
Jan 2002 |
US |
|
60368832 |
Mar 2002 |
US |
|
60400289 |
Jul 2002 |
US |