Supramolecular Hemicage Cobalt Mediators for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

A new class of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using the hemicage cobalt-based mediator Co(ttb) with the highly preorganized hexadentate ligand 5,5 '', 5 ''''-((2,4,6-triethyl benzene-1,3,5-triyl)tris(ethane-2,1-diyl))tri-2,2'-bipyridine (ttb) has been fully investigated. The performances of DSSCs sensitized with organic D-p-A dyes utilizing either Co(ttb) or the conventional Co(bpy)(3) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) redox mediator are comparable under 1000 Wm(-2) AM 1.5 G illumination. However, the hemicage complexes exhibit exceptional stability under thermal and light stress. In particular, a 120-hour continuous light illumination stability test for DSSCs using Co(ttb) resulted in a 10% increase in the performance, whereas a 40% decrease in performance was found for Co(bpy)(3) electrolyte-based DSSCs under the same conditions. These results demonstrate the great promise of Co(ttb) complexes as redox mediators for efficient, cost-effective, large-scale DSSC devices.