IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i4p1159-d503685.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Di-Carbazole-Based Dye as a Potential Sensitizer for Greenhouse-Integrated Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Author

Listed:
  • Dimitris A. Chalkias

    (Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Peloponnese, GR26334 Patras, Greece)

  • Christos Charalampopoulos

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, GR26504 Rio-Patras, Greece)

  • Stefania Aivali

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, GR26504 Rio-Patras, Greece)

  • Aikaterini K. Andreopoulou

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, GR26504 Rio-Patras, Greece)

  • Aggeliki Karavioti

    (Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Peloponnese, GR26334 Patras, Greece
    Department of Physics, University of Patras, GR26504 Rio-Patras, Greece)

  • Elias Stathatos

    (Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Peloponnese, GR26334 Patras, Greece)

Abstract

For the first time in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) technology, a di-carbazole-based dye was synthesized and evaluated for its usage as a potential sensitizer for the development of wavelength selective semi-transparent DSSCs for greenhouses-oriented applications. The dye was designed to demonstrate a blue light absorption, allowing a high transmittance in the red region of the visible light, even after its adsorption on the anode semiconductor, which is the most important one for the photosynthetic action of the plants. The application of the new dye to DSSCs was examined using either a high-performance iodide-based electrolyte or a highly transparent iodine-free electrolyte to determine a good balance between electric power generation and device transparency. The spectral engineered DSSCs demonstrated quite promising characteristics, providing a high external quantum efficiency (higher than 70%) in the whole blue–green region of the visible light, while allowing high transparency (up to 55%) in the red region, where the second peak in the absorbance spectrum of chlorophyll is located. Finally, the derived results were discussed under the consideration of important metrics for this niche application, including the transparency of the solar cells in the region of photosynthetic active radiation and the attained crop growth factor. The present work constitutes one of the few comprehensive studies carried out up to now in the direction of the development of 3rd generation “agrivoltaics” for their possible integration as cladding materials in energy-autonomous greenhouses.

Suggested Citation

  • Dimitris A. Chalkias & Christos Charalampopoulos & Stefania Aivali & Aikaterini K. Andreopoulou & Aggeliki Karavioti & Elias Stathatos, 2021. "A Di-Carbazole-Based Dye as a Potential Sensitizer for Greenhouse-Integrated Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:4:p:1159-:d:503685
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/4/1159/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/4/1159/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hiroki Uoyama & Kenichi Goushi & Katsuyuki Shizu & Hiroko Nomura & Chihaya Adachi, 2012. "Highly efficient organic light-emitting diodes from delayed fluorescence," Nature, Nature, vol. 492(7428), pages 234-238, December.
    2. Hassanien, Reda Hassanien Emam & Li, Ming & Dong Lin, Wei, 2016. "Advanced applications of solar energy in agricultural greenhouses," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 989-1001.
    3. Cossu, Marco & Murgia, Lelia & Ledda, Luigi & Deligios, Paola A. & Sirigu, Antonella & Chessa, Francesco & Pazzona, Antonio, 2014. "Solar radiation distribution inside a greenhouse with south-oriented photovoltaic roofs and effects on crop productivity," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 89-100.
    4. Roslan, N. & Ya'acob, M.E. & Radzi, M.A.M. & Hashimoto, Y. & Jamaludin, D. & Chen, G., 2018. "Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) greenhouse shading: New insights for solar radiation manipulation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 171-186.
    5. Sacco, Adriano, 2017. "Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy: Fundamentals and application in dye-sensitized solar cells," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 814-829.
    6. Gong, Jiawei & Sumathy, K. & Qiao, Qiquan & Zhou, Zhengping, 2017. "Review on dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs): Advanced techniques and research trends," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P1), pages 234-246.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mi-Ra Kim & Thanh Chung Pham & Yeonghwan Choi & Seah Yang & Hyun-Seock Yang & Sung Heum Park & Mijeong Kang & Songyi Lee, 2022. "Syntheses and Photovoltaic Properties of New Pyrazine-Based Organic Photosensitizers for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-17, August.
    2. Jessica Barichello & Luigi Vesce & Paolo Mariani & Enrico Leonardi & Roberto Braglia & Aldo Di Carlo & Antonella Canini & Andrea Reale, 2021. "Stable Semi-Transparent Dye-Sensitized Solar Modules and Panels for Greenhouse Application," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, October.
    3. Usman Ghafoor & Anas Bin Aqeel & Uzair Khaleeq uz Zaman & Taiba Zahid & Muhammad Noman & Muhammad Shakeel Ahmad, 2021. "Effect of Molybdenum Disulfide on the Performance of Polyaniline Based Counter Electrode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-9, June.
    4. Carmen Coppola & Maria Laura Parisi & Adalgisa Sinicropi, 2023. "The Role of Organic Compounds in Dye-Sensitized and Perovskite Solar Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-4, January.
    5. Carlos Toledo & Alessandra Scognamiglio, 2021. "Agrivoltaic Systems Design and Assessment: A Critical Review, and a Descriptive Model towards a Sustainable Landscape Vision (Three-Dimensional Agrivoltaic Patterns)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-38, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. La Notte, Luca & Giordano, Lorena & Calabrò, Emanuele & Bedini, Roberto & Colla, Giuseppe & Puglisi, Giovanni & Reale, Andrea, 2020. "Hybrid and organic photovoltaics for greenhouse applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    2. Yano, Akira & Cossu, Marco, 2019. "Energy sustainable greenhouse crop cultivation using photovoltaic technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 116-137.
    3. Carlos Toledo & Alessandra Scognamiglio, 2021. "Agrivoltaic Systems Design and Assessment: A Critical Review, and a Descriptive Model towards a Sustainable Landscape Vision (Three-Dimensional Agrivoltaic Patterns)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-38, June.
    4. Zhang, Kai & Yu, Jihua & Ren, Yan, 2022. "Research on the size optimization of photovoltaic panels and integrated application with Chinese solar greenhouses," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 536-551.
    5. Xue, Jinlin, 2017. "Photovoltaic agriculture - New opportunity for photovoltaic applications in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1-9.
    6. Hassanien, Reda Hassanien Emam & Li, Ming & Yin, Fang, 2018. "The integration of semi-transparent photovoltaics on greenhouse roof for energy and plant production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 377-388.
    7. Gorjian, Shiva & Bousi, Erion & Özdemir, Özal Emre & Trommsdorff, Max & Kumar, Nallapaneni Manoj & Anand, Abhishek & Kant, Karunesh & Chopra, Shauhrat S., 2022. "Progress and challenges of crop production and electricity generation in agrivoltaic systems using semi-transparent photovoltaic technology," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    8. Cossu, Marco & Cossu, Andrea & Deligios, Paola A. & Ledda, Luigi & Li, Zhi & Fatnassi, Hicham & Poncet, Christine & Yano, Akira, 2018. "Assessment and comparison of the solar radiation distribution inside the main commercial photovoltaic greenhouse types in Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 822-834.
    9. Alizadeh, Amin & Roudgar-Amoli, Mostafa & Bonyad-Shekalgourabi, Seyed-Milad & Shariatinia, Zahra & Mahmoudi, Melika & Saadat, Fatemeh, 2022. "Dye sensitized solar cells go beyond using perovskite and spinel inorganic materials: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    10. Li, Zhi & Yano, Akira & Yoshioka, Hidekazu, 2020. "Feasibility study of a blind-type photovoltaic roof-shade system designed for simultaneous production of crops and electricity in a greenhouse," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    11. Zhi Li & Akira Yano & Marco Cossu & Hidekazu Yoshioka & Ichiro Kita & Yasuomi Ibaraki, 2018. "Electrical Energy Producing Greenhouse Shading System with a Semi-Transparent Photovoltaic Blind Based on Micro-Spherical Solar Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-23, June.
    12. Achour, Yasmine & Ouammi, Ahmed & Zejli, Driss, 2021. "Technological progresses in modern sustainable greenhouses cultivation as the path towards precision agriculture," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    13. Javier Padilla & Carlos Toledo & Rodolfo López-Vicente & Raquel Montoya & José-Ramón Navarro & José Abad & Antonio Urbina, 2021. "Passive Heating and Cooling of Photovoltaic Greenhouses Including Thermochromic Materials," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-22, January.
    14. Wang, Tianyue & Wu, Gaoxiang & Chen, Jiewei & Cui, Peng & Chen, Zexi & Yan, Yangyang & Zhang, Yan & Li, Meicheng & Niu, Dongxiao & Li, Baoguo & Chen, Hongyi, 2017. "Integration of solar technology to modern greenhouse in China: Current status, challenges and prospect," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 1178-1188.
    15. Jessica Barichello & Luigi Vesce & Paolo Mariani & Enrico Leonardi & Roberto Braglia & Aldo Di Carlo & Antonella Canini & Andrea Reale, 2021. "Stable Semi-Transparent Dye-Sensitized Solar Modules and Panels for Greenhouse Application," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, October.
    16. Raúl Aroca-Delgado & José Pérez-Alonso & Ángel Jesús Callejón-Ferre & Borja Velázquez-Martí, 2018. "Compatibility between Crops and Solar Panels: An Overview from Shading Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-19, March.
    17. El Kolaly, Wael & Ma, Wenhui & Li, Ming & Darwesh, Mohammed, 2020. "The investigation of energy production and mushroom yield in greenhouse production based on mono photovoltaic cells effect," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 506-518.
    18. Behroozeh, Samira & Hayati, Dariush & Karami, Ezatollah, 2022. "Determining and validating criteria to measure energy consumption sustainability in agricultural greenhouses," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    19. Amaducci, Stefano & Yin, Xinyou & Colauzzi, Michele, 2018. "Agrivoltaic systems to optimise land use for electric energy production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 545-561.
    20. Nabavi-Pelesaraei, Ashkan & Azadi, Hossein & Van Passel, Steven & Saber, Zahra & Hosseini-Fashami, Fatemeh & Mostashari-Rad, Fatemeh & Ghasemi-Mobtaker, Hassan, 2021. "Prospects of solar systems in production chain of sunflower oil using cold press method with concentrating energy and life cycle assessment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:4:p:1159-:d:503685. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.