Florida State University Research Foundation, Inc.

Tristan Dilbeck

Kenneth Hanson

Sean Hill

Transmission of low energy light is one of the primary loss mechanisms of a single junction solar cell. Molecular photon upconversion via triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA-UC)&#x2014;combining two or more low energy photons to generate a higher energy excited state&#x2014;is an intriguing strategy to surpass this limit. The present disclosure is directed to self-assembled multilayers, e.g., bi- or trilayers, on metal oxide surfaces as a strategy to facilitate TTA-UC emission and demonstrate direct charge separation of the upconverted state. A three-fold enhancement in transient photocurrent is achieved at light intensities as low as two equivalent suns. The multilayer structure comprises a substrate comprising a metal oxide surface and a bulk region, and a self-assembled bilayer film, the bilayer film comprising: (a) an acceptor molecule covalently bonded to the metal oxide surface; (b) a linking metal ion bonded to the acceptor molecule; and (c) one or more sensitizer molecule(s) bonded to the linking coordinating metal ion.

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Tallahassee, FL, United States of America

Tristan Dilbeck