Cobalt polypyridine complexes are interesting alternative
redox mediators for large scale manufacturing of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) since they are less aggressive towards
metal contacts and absorb less light than
iodide /
triiodide. Here we have examined the effect of steric properties of
triphenylamine-based organic sensitizers and
cobalt polypyridine
redox mediators on the
electron lifetime and overall device performance in DSCs. Matching the steric bulk of the dye and
redox mediator was found to minimize recombination and
mass transport problems in DSCs employing
cobalt redox mediators. Recombination was efficiently slowed down by introducing insulating butoxyl chains on the dye, allowing the use of a
cobalt redox mediator with a less steric bulk. The best efficiency of DSCs sensitized with a
triphenylamine-based
organic dye in combination with cobalt(II / III)
tris(2,2′-bipyridyl) match the highest efficiencies obtained so far with
iodide-free electrolytes, reaching a 6.3% overall conversion efficiency under AMI.5 condition (1000 Wm-2) and an efficiency of 7.8% at 1 / 10 of a sun. Organic dyes with high
extinction coefficient can thus be used instead of standard
ruthenium sensitizers to build thin films DSCs in order to overcome
mass transport and recombination limitations associated with the cobalt redox couples. DSCs sensitized with organic dyes employing cobalt redox mediators are promising for low
light intensity applications since the efficiency and
voltage is high at indoor illumination.