Unsymmetrical spiro-based compounds as hole transporting materials for solid-state dye-sensitised and perovskite solar cells

Tracey, Frances Mary (2019) Unsymmetrical spiro-based compounds as hole transporting materials for solid-state dye-sensitised and perovskite solar cells. MSc(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The world is becoming increasingly dependent on energy to satisfy human social and economic development. The application of renewable energy sources has been identified as a necessity for future energy sustainability. Solar power is one of the most rapidly developing forms of renewable energy with extensive research into ssDSSCs and PSCs being undergone in recent years due to the potential for use of environmentally friendly raw materials and low cost processability of these devices. HTMs are implemented in these devices to aid in efficient device operation, with spiroOMeTAD generally being used as the benchmark due to its superior performance. However, spiroOMeTAD has numerous disadvantages preventing its application in commercial devices. Manipulation of its structure has been considered as a means of improving device stability while retaining the desirable properties.

This thesis describes the steps taken in order to develop a divergent methodology for the synthesis of a series of novel spiro-OMeTAD based dimers. This methodology allowed the chain length of the unsymmetrical secondary amine arm to be incorporated into the synthesis at a late stage and reduced the linear step count of previous approaches in order to improve the overall yield. Buchwald-Hartwig amination was employed as the key-step for this methodology, which led to the formation of the protected unsymmetrical spiro-OMeTAD derivative. However, this step lowers the overall efficiency for the synthesis of the spiro OMeTAD based dimers. The spectroscopic and redox properties of these compounds were analysed and produced similar results indicating the change in linker group had a minimal impact on their properties. Their characteristics show the potential of these materials to act as HTMs for ssDSSCs or PSCs.

• Item Type: Thesis (MSc(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Additional Information: Due to copyright issues this thesis is not available for viewing.
• Keywords: Dye-sensitised, perovskite, hole-transporting materials, solar cells, spiro-OMeTAD.
• Subjects: Q Science > QD Chemistry
• Colleges/Schools: College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry
• Supervisor's Name: Cooke, Prof. Graeme
• Date of Award: 2019
• Depositing User: Miss Frances M Tracey
• Unique ID: glathesis:2019-75155
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 06 Nov 2019 13:04
• Last Modified: 08 Mar 2023 09:42
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.75155
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/75155