Conversion of near-infrared (NIR) light photons into visible light has remarkable advantages in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) for their improved performance. This study uncovers the dual function of LiYF₄:Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ as upconverter (UC) and light scattering material in DSSCs by its incorporation onto the photoelectrode. The LiYF₄:Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ powders were prepared using a facile hydrothermal process followed by spin deposition of LiYF₄:Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ suspensions over photoelectrode. The photoelectrode used for this investigation was further cosensitized with N719 and squaraine SPSQ2 dyes. The dual functions of LiYF₄:Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ material coupled with dye cosensitization treatment produced record power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.53% in the fabricated DSSC. The LiYF₄:Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ enabled the photoelectrode DSSC to exhibit good short-circuit current density (J_sc) of 22.16 mA/cm², open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.66 V, and fill factor (FF) of 0.72. This work is the debut attempt toward the application of a photoelectrode embedded with dual function and cosensitized materials to utilize lower energetic photons through the upconversion mechanism and improve absorption close to red wavelengths (absorption band 630–700 nm) through the dye cosensitization process.

中文翻译：

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有效的上变频器和光散射双重功能LiYF ₄：Er ³⁺ / Yb ³⁺辅助光电电极，用于高性能增敏染料敏化太阳能电池

在染料敏化太阳能电池（DSSC）中，近红外（NIR）光子转换为可见光具有显着的优势，因为它们具有改进的性能。这项研究揭示了LiYF ₄：Er ³⁺ / Yb ³⁺作为DSSC中的上变频器（UC）和光散射材料的双重功能，方法是将其掺入光电极中。LiYF ₄：Er ³⁺ / Yb ³⁺粉末的制备方法是采用水热法，然后旋转沉积LiYF ₄：Er ³⁺ / Yb ³⁺悬浮在光电极上。用于本研究的光电极进一步与N719和方酸SPSQ2染料共敏化。LiYF ₄：Er ³⁺ / Yb ³⁺材料的双重功能与染料共敏处理相结合，在制造的DSSC中产生了创纪录的功率转换效率（PCE），为10.53％。LiYF ₄：Er ³⁺ / Yb ³⁺使光敏电极DSSC的短路电流密度（J _sc）为22.16 mA / cm ²，开路电压（V _oc））为0.66 V，填充系数（FF）为0.72。这项工作是首次尝试应用嵌入了双重功能和共敏材料的光电极，通过上转换机制利用低能光子，并通过染料共敏过程改善接近红色波长（吸收带630-700 nm）的吸收。