TY - JOUR
T1 - Near-infrared light harvesting of upconverting Y2O3:Er3+ nanoparticles and their photovoltaic application
AU - Sakamoto, Daisuke
AU - Shiratani, Masaharu
AU - Seo, Hyunwoong
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) ( NRF-2020R1C1C1008073 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/12/20
Y1 - 2022/12/20
N2 - Light harvesting plays a significant role in the enhancement on photovoltaic performance. It is closely associated with the photocurrent of solar cells. It is possible to improve light harvesting by material substitution as well as expansion of absorptive edge. Therefore, upconversion characteristics is one of promising solutions for better light harvesting. Upconverting materials emit visible light which is available for photoconversion after they absorb invisible near-infrared (NIR) light. In this study, Er3+ doped Y2O3 (Y2O3:Er3+) nanoparticles were used as upconverting material. Its strong emissions of green and red light corresponding to 2H11/2 and 4S3/2 → 4I15/2 and 4F9/2 → 4I15/2 transitions were clearly demonstrated under NIR irradiation of 975 nm wavelength. These emissions were apparently absorbed by dye-sensitized electrode. Based on these results, Y2O3:Er3+ nanoparticles were introduced into dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). After incorporating Y2O3:Er3+ nanoparticles, photovoltage was increased due to its high band-gap energy of about 5 eV. On the other hand, the photocurrent was decreased because of the decrease in adsorbed dye amount and electron paths. However, the photoconversion edge was obviously expanded. As a result, DSC performance was enhanced with optimum upconverting particles. It exhibited an efficiency of 8.03%, which was higher than that of a conventional DSC.
AB - Light harvesting plays a significant role in the enhancement on photovoltaic performance. It is closely associated with the photocurrent of solar cells. It is possible to improve light harvesting by material substitution as well as expansion of absorptive edge. Therefore, upconversion characteristics is one of promising solutions for better light harvesting. Upconverting materials emit visible light which is available for photoconversion after they absorb invisible near-infrared (NIR) light. In this study, Er3+ doped Y2O3 (Y2O3:Er3+) nanoparticles were used as upconverting material. Its strong emissions of green and red light corresponding to 2H11/2 and 4S3/2 → 4I15/2 and 4F9/2 → 4I15/2 transitions were clearly demonstrated under NIR irradiation of 975 nm wavelength. These emissions were apparently absorbed by dye-sensitized electrode. Based on these results, Y2O3:Er3+ nanoparticles were introduced into dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). After incorporating Y2O3:Er3+ nanoparticles, photovoltage was increased due to its high band-gap energy of about 5 eV. On the other hand, the photocurrent was decreased because of the decrease in adsorbed dye amount and electron paths. However, the photoconversion edge was obviously expanded. As a result, DSC performance was enhanced with optimum upconverting particles. It exhibited an efficiency of 8.03%, which was higher than that of a conventional DSC.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.electacta.2022.141407
DO - 10.1016/j.electacta.2022.141407
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85141332011
VL - 436
JO - Electrochimica Acta
JF - Electrochimica Acta
SN - 0013-4686
M1 - 141407
ER -
