Density Functional Theory (DFT) Study of Coumarin-based Dyes Adsorbed on TiO2 Nanoclusters—Applications to Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Coumarin-based dyes have been successfully used in dye-sensitized solar cells, leading to photovoltaic conversion efficiencies of up to about 8%. Given the need to better understand the behavior of the dye adsorbed on the TiO2 nanoparticle, we report results of density functional theory (DFT) and ti...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mihai A. Gîrţu, Marilena Ferbinteanu, Fanica Cimpoesu, Petre Panait, Corneliu I. Oprea
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2013-06-01
Series:Materials
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/6/6/2372
_version_ 1811301008811229184
author Mihai A. Gîrţu
Marilena Ferbinteanu
Fanica Cimpoesu
Petre Panait
Corneliu I. Oprea
author_facet Mihai A. Gîrţu
Marilena Ferbinteanu
Fanica Cimpoesu
Petre Panait
Corneliu I. Oprea
author_sort Mihai A. Gîrţu
collection DOAJ
description Coumarin-based dyes have been successfully used in dye-sensitized solar cells, leading to photovoltaic conversion efficiencies of up to about 8%. Given the need to better understand the behavior of the dye adsorbed on the TiO2 nanoparticle, we report results of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) studies of several coumarin-based dyes, as well as complex systems consisting of the dye bound to a TiO2 cluster. We provide the electronic structure and simulated UV-Vis spectra of the dyes alone and adsorbed to the cluster and discuss the matching with the solar spectrum. We display the energy level diagrams and the electron density of the key molecular orbitals and analyze the electron transfer from the dye to the oxide. Finally, we compare our theoretical results with the experimental data available and discuss the key issues that influence the device performance.
first_indexed 2024-04-13T07:01:02Z
format Article
id doaj.art-78a95118b8124475801ba7009e8ea9a7
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1996-1944
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-13T07:01:02Z
publishDate 2013-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Materials
spelling doaj.art-78a95118b8124475801ba7009e8ea9a72022-12-22T02:57:07ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442013-06-01662372239210.3390/ma6062372Density Functional Theory (DFT) Study of Coumarin-based Dyes Adsorbed on TiO2 Nanoclusters—Applications to Dye-Sensitized Solar CellsMihai A. GîrţuMarilena FerbinteanuFanica CimpoesuPetre PanaitCorneliu I. OpreaCoumarin-based dyes have been successfully used in dye-sensitized solar cells, leading to photovoltaic conversion efficiencies of up to about 8%. Given the need to better understand the behavior of the dye adsorbed on the TiO2 nanoparticle, we report results of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) studies of several coumarin-based dyes, as well as complex systems consisting of the dye bound to a TiO2 cluster. We provide the electronic structure and simulated UV-Vis spectra of the dyes alone and adsorbed to the cluster and discuss the matching with the solar spectrum. We display the energy level diagrams and the electron density of the key molecular orbitals and analyze the electron transfer from the dye to the oxide. Finally, we compare our theoretical results with the experimental data available and discuss the key issues that influence the device performance.http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/6/6/2372coumarin-based dyesdensity functional theoryoptical spectratitanium dioxide clusterdye-sensitized solar cells
spellingShingle Mihai A. Gîrţu
Marilena Ferbinteanu
Fanica Cimpoesu
Petre Panait
Corneliu I. Oprea
Density Functional Theory (DFT) Study of Coumarin-based Dyes Adsorbed on TiO2 Nanoclusters—Applications to Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Materials
coumarin-based dyes
density functional theory
optical spectra
titanium dioxide cluster
dye-sensitized solar cells
title Density Functional Theory (DFT) Study of Coumarin-based Dyes Adsorbed on TiO2 Nanoclusters—Applications to Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
title_full Density Functional Theory (DFT) Study of Coumarin-based Dyes Adsorbed on TiO2 Nanoclusters—Applications to Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
title_fullStr Density Functional Theory (DFT) Study of Coumarin-based Dyes Adsorbed on TiO2 Nanoclusters—Applications to Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
title_full_unstemmed Density Functional Theory (DFT) Study of Coumarin-based Dyes Adsorbed on TiO2 Nanoclusters—Applications to Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
title_short Density Functional Theory (DFT) Study of Coumarin-based Dyes Adsorbed on TiO2 Nanoclusters—Applications to Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
title_sort density functional theory dft study of coumarin based dyes adsorbed on tio2 nanoclusters applications to dye sensitized solar cells
topic coumarin-based dyes
density functional theory
optical spectra
titanium dioxide cluster
dye-sensitized solar cells
url http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/6/6/2372
work_keys_str_mv AT mihaiagirtu densityfunctionaltheorydftstudyofcoumarinbaseddyesadsorbedontio2nanoclustersapplicationstodyesensitizedsolarcells
AT marilenaferbinteanu densityfunctionaltheorydftstudyofcoumarinbaseddyesadsorbedontio2nanoclustersapplicationstodyesensitizedsolarcells
AT fanicacimpoesu densityfunctionaltheorydftstudyofcoumarinbaseddyesadsorbedontio2nanoclustersapplicationstodyesensitizedsolarcells
AT petrepanait densityfunctionaltheorydftstudyofcoumarinbaseddyesadsorbedontio2nanoclustersapplicationstodyesensitizedsolarcells
AT corneliuioprea densityfunctionaltheorydftstudyofcoumarinbaseddyesadsorbedontio2nanoclustersapplicationstodyesensitizedsolarcells