Main Research Activities

The aim of this project is to extend and improve the light harvesting properties towards the NIR region, of a new series of organic dyes, synthesized in our laboratory by a former post-doctoral fellow at LRCS (Dr. Nadia Barbero). Changing the core-units of the based squaraine sensitizers, we have been able to shift the light absorption by more than 300 nm with respect to the benchmark metal-organic sensitizer, N719 ( λ_abs ~ 520 nm), reaching 827 nm. Moreover these sensitizers show higher molar extinction coefficients (100 000- 320 000 mol^-1cm^-1) and more favorable synthetic cost for up-scaling. The molecules have been designed and conceived by Professors G. Viscardi and C. Barolo from the NIS and INSTM Reference Centre, Department of Chemistry of the University of Turin. The development and optimization of a NIR DSC cell is motivated for two main reasons: i) on one side in order to build a tandem device able to convert all the photons from the UV-visible region up to 920 nm, realistically reaching above 14% of power conversion efficiency (PCE); ii) on the other hand to exploit the high molar extinction coefficients to build a transparent and colorless solar cell. 

Academic Training

PhD (LRCS, Frédéric Sauvage, Development and challenges of NIR absorbers to extend the sunlight harvesting in Dyes-sensitized Solar Cells; Master's trainee supervision

Responsable of the Materials Storage warehouse)

• master (University of Rome « La Sapienza » , 2010-2013)

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Professional skills

Running Projects

French ministerial grant of three years.

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