Studies of light power technology using photon based techniques
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Uppsala universitet - Institutionen för fysik och astronomi |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 495 000 |
| Project duration | November 2020 - September 2022 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Research infrastructure - utilisation and collaboration |
| Call | Industrial pilot projects for utilisation of large-scale infrastructures for neutron and photon based techniques – 2020 |
| End-of-project report | 2020-03802_EXEGER.pdf (pdf, 4793 kB) |
Important results from the project
EXEGER is a Stockholm-based solar cell company specialized in producing third generation dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). One key parameter in manufacturing is swift sensitization with high reproducibility for the technology developed by EXEGER. This benefits from understanding of how the sensitization process affects surface structure at an atomic level utilizing advanced photon sources like MAX IV.
Expected long term effects
XAS data analysis revealed (i) high similarity of dye batches, (ii) no significant asymmetric distortions within the Ru-Nx environment, and (iii) indication on sensitization time needed for surface saturation. Moreover, we observed changes in binding configuration when exposed to the electrolyte. The impact is on the understanding of dye saturation, however, a deeper analysis showed that the EXEGER dyes suffered from X-ray damage when measured in the presence of a liquid showing the importance of further developing measurement protocols
Approach and implementation
The work was divided into two specific beam times: (1) XPS done at the HIPPIE beamline (2) XAS at BALDER beamline. XAS at the Ruthenium k-edge was measured on powders of 3 known standard dyes pressed into 3 mm diameter pellets and compared to the DSSC dyes. Measurements was also done on sensitized thin films. 1 mM solution of the dyes was prepared for sensitization on mesoporous TiO2 deposited on glass substrates. The process was quantified, among other things, by following the time evolution of sensitisation.