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Product Code M591-50g
Price £300 ex. VAT

4-tert-Butylpyridine, high purity semiconducting molecule

An additive in electrolytes of DSSCs and used in HTL materials of PSCs


Overview | Specifications | Literature and Reviews


Together with our ultra pure LiTFSi and sublimed Spiro-MeOTAD, 4-tert-Butylpyridine (also with high purity over 98.0%) is an ideal candidate for your perovskite solar cells research.

General Information


CAS number 3978-81-2
Chemical formula C9H13N
Molecular weight 135.21 g/mol
HOMO/LUMO HOMO 5.9 eV, LUMO 2.4 eV
Synonyms TBP, Pyridine 4-tert-butyl, t-BuPy, tBuPy
Classification / Family Pyridine Derivatives, Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells (DSSC), OLEDs, Perovskite HTL Materials, Electrolyte materials.

Product Details


Purity > 98.0%
Boiling point 196-197 °C (lit.)
Density 0.923 g/mL at 25 °C
Colour Light yellow clear liquid

Chemical Structure


chemical structure of 4-tert-butylpyridine
Chemical structure of 4-tert-Butylpyridine, CAS No.3978-81-2

Applications


4-tert-Butylpyridine (TBP) is widely used as additive in electrolytes of dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSC) and in hole transport layer materials (HTL) of polymer photovoltaics and perovskite solar cells.

Despite the high volatility and unpleasant smell, 4-tert-butylpyridine is usually added into HTM to suppress charge-recombination and further improve the properties of HTM and ensure the high efficiency perovskite solar cells. It has been demonstrated that the flexible and facile use of 4-tert-Butylpyridine can improve the crystallinity of perovskite, PCEs of CH3NH3PbI3-based PSCs were improved from 6.71% to 10.62% (i.e., 58% enhancement) [1].

By introduction of Li-TFSI/TBP additives in poly-3-hexylthiophene HTM for CH3NH3PbI3/P3HT perovskite mesoscopic solar cells, great enhancement of the device efficiency from 5.7% to 13.7% was achieved [2].

Device structure

CH3NH3PbI3-based planar PSCs without TBP* [1]

CH3NH3PbI3-based planar PSCs with TBP [1]

JSC (mA cm-2) 17.12 21.27
VOC (V) 0.92 0.96
FF (%) 43 52
PCE (best) 6.71 10.62
Device structure

FTO/bl-TiO2/TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3/ P3HT:LiTFSI/Au [2]

FTO/bl-TiO2/TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3/ P3HT:LiTFSI:TBP/Au [2]

JSC (mA cm-2) 15.5 20.1
VOC (V) 0.67 0.92
FF (%) 55 74
PCE (best) 5.7 13.7

*4-tert-Butylpyridine as an additive resulted in orientational and better crystallinity

Characterisation (NMR and HPLC)


4-tert-butylpyridine, TBP, 3978-81-2
HPLC trace of 4-tert-Butylpyridine (TPB; CAS No. 3978-81-2)
1H NMR 4-tert-butylpyridine, tbp
1H NMR of 4-tert-Butylpyridine (TPB) in CDCl3.

Literature and Reviews


  1. Effects of 4-tert-butylpyridine on perovskite formation and performance of solution-processed perovskite solar cells, Y. Shi et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 3, 22191-22198 (2015). DOI: 10.1039/C5TA05988G.
  2. CH3NH3PbI3/poly-3-hexylthiophen perovskite mesoscopic solar cells: Performance enhancement by Li-assisted hole conduction, J-H. Heo et al., Phys. Status Solidi RRL 8, No. 10, 816–821 (2014). DOI 10.1002/pssr.201409330.
  3. Influence of alkylpyridine additives in electrolyte solution on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cell, H. Kusama et al., Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, 80, 167–179 (2003). doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2003.08.001.
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