Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on a Novel Fluorescent Dye with a Pyridine Ring and a Pyridinium Dye with the Pyridinium Ring Forming Strong Interactions with Nanocrystalline TiO2 Films

Comparative Study of TiO2, ZnO, and Nb2O5 Photoanodes for Nitro-Substituted Naphthoquinone Photosensitizer-Based Solar Cells

This research focuses on the first demonstration of NO2Lw (2-hydroxy-3-nitronaphthalene-1,4-dione) as a photosensitizer and TiO2, ZnO, and Nb2O5 as photoanode materials for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The metal-free organic photosensitizer (i.e., nitro-group-substituted naphthoquinone, NO2Lw) was synthesized for this purpose. As a photoanode material, metal oxides, such as TiO2, ZnO, and Nb2O5, were selected. The synthesized NO2Lw contains an electron-withdrawing group (-NO2) and anchoring groups (-OH) that exhibit absorption in the visible range. The UV-visible absorbance spectrum of NO2Lw demonstrates the absorption ascribed to ultraviolet and visible region charge transfer. The NO2Lw interacts with the TiO2, ZnO, and Nb2O5 photoanode, as shown by bathochromic shifts in wavelengths in the photosensitizer-loaded TiO2, ZnO, and Nb2O5 photoanodes. FT-IR analysis also studied the bonding interaction between NO2Lw and TiO2, ZnO, and Nb2O5 photoanode material. The TiO2, ZnO, and Nb2O5 photoanodes loaded with NO2Lw exhibit a shift in the wavenumber of the functional groups, indicating that these groups were involved in loading the NO2Lw photosensitizer. The amount of photosensitizer loading was calculated, showing that TiO2 has higher loading than ZnO and Nb2O5 photoanodes; this factor may constitute an increased JSC value of the TiO2 photoanode. The device performance is compared using photocurrent-voltage (J-V) curves; electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement examines the device's charge transport. The TiO2 photoanode showed higher performance than the ZnO and Nb2O5 photoanodes in terms of photoelectrochemical properties. When compared to ZnO and Nb2O5 photoanodes-based DSSCs, the TiO2 photoanode Bode plot shows a signature frequency peak corresponding to electron recombination rate toward the low-frequency region, showing that TiO2 has a greater electron lifetime than ZnO and Nb2O5 photoanodes based DSSCs.

Pyridine-Terminated Conjugated Organic Molecules as an Interfacial Hole Transfer Bridge for NiOx-Based Perovskite Solar Cells

To engineer the NiO_x/perovskite interface and promote interfacial hole transfer, two pyridine-terminated conjugated small organic molecules (PTZ-1 and PTZ-2) are synthesized to link the NiO_x and perovskite layers for NiO_x-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs). One terminal pyridine group interacts with the NiO_x layer, while the other one coordinates with the Pb atoms of the perovskite layer, erecting an interfacial hole transfer bridge between NiO_x and perovskite. Surface modification of the NiO_x film with the PTZ molecules is able to enhance hole extraction, increase hole mobility and conductivity of NiO_x, reduce defect density, and retard interfacial charge recombination. As a consequence, power conversion efficiency is improved from 12.53 to 16.25 and 17.00% upon surface modifications of NiO_x with PTZ-1 and PTZ-2, respectively. Furthermore, the modified PSCs exhibit almost no hysteresis and show good stability after storage in air (relative humidity of 30-40%) for 500 h without encapsulation.

Development of type-I/type-II hybrid dye sensitizer with both pyridyl group and catechol unit as anchoring group for type-I/type-II dye-sensitized solar cell

A type-I/type-II hybrid dye sensitizer with a pyridyl group and a catechol unit as the anchoring group has been developed and its photovoltaic performance in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is investigated. The sensitizer has the ability to adsorb on a TiO₂ electrode through both the coordination bond at Lewis acid sites and the bidentate binuclear bridging linkage at Brønsted acid sites on the TiO₂ surface, which makes it possible to inject an electron into the conduction band of the TiO₂ electrode by the intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) excitation (type-I pathway) and by the photoexcitation of the dye-to-TiO₂ charge transfer (DTCT) band (type-II pathway). It was found that the type-I/type-II hybrid dye sensitizer adsorbed on TiO₂ film exhibits a broad photoabsorption band originating from ICT and DTCT characteristics. Here we reveal the photophysical and electrochemical properties of the type-I/type-II hybrid dye sensitizer bearing a pyridyl group and a catechol unit, along with its adsorption modes onto TiO₂ film, and its photovoltaic performance in type-I/type-II DSSC, based on optical (photoabsorption and fluorescence spectroscopy) and electrochemical measurements (cyclic voltammetry), density functional theory (DFT) calculation, FT-IR spectroscopy of the dyes adsorbed on TiO₂ film, photocurrent-voltage (I-V) curves, incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) spectra, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for DSSC.

Synthesis, optical and electrochemical properties, and photovoltaic performance of a panchromatic and near-infrared (D)2–π–A type BODIPY dye with pyridyl group or cyanoacrylic acid

(D)₂–π–A type BODIPY dyes bearing a pyridyl group or cyanoacrylic acid group and two diphenylamine–thienylcarbazole moieties which possess near-infrared adsorption ability as well as panchromatic adsorption ability, have been developed.

Synthesis and optical and electrochemical properties of julolidine-structured pyrido[3,4-b]indole dye

The julolidine-structured pyrido[3,4-b]indole dye ET-1 possesses the ability to act as a calorimetric and fluorescent sensor for Brønsted and Lewis acids.

Impact of the molecular structure and adsorption mode of D-π-A dye sensitizers with a pyridyl group in dye-sensitized solar cells on the adsorption equilibrium constant for dye-adsorption on TiO2 surface

D-π-A dyes NI-4 bearing a pyridyl group, YNI-1 bearing two pyridyl groups and YNI-2 bearing two thienylpyridyl groups as the anchoring group on the TiO₂ surface have been developed as dye sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), where NI-4 and YNI-2 can adsorb onto the TiO₂ electrode through the formation of the coordinate bond between the pyridyl group of the dye and the Lewis acid site (exposed Tiⁿ⁺ cations) on the TiO₂ surface, but YNI-1 is predominantly adsorbed on the TiO₂ electrode through the formation of the hydrogen bond between the pyridyl group of the dye and the Brønsted acid sites (surface-bound hydroxyl groups, Ti-OH) on the TiO₂ surface. The difference in the dye-adsorption mode among the three dyes on the TiO₂ surface has been investigated from the adsorption equilibrium constant (K_ad) based on the Langmuir adsorption isotherms. It was found that the K_ad values of YNI-1 and YNI-2 are higher than that of NI-4, and more interestingly, the K_ad value of YNI-2 is higher than that of YNI-1. This work demonstrates that that for the D-π-A dye sensitizers with the pyridyl group as the anchoring group to the TiO₂ surface the number of pyridyl groups and the dye-adsorption mode on the TiO₂ electrode as well as the molecular structure of the dye sensitizer affect the K_ad value for the adsorption of the dye to the TiO₂ electrode, that is, resulting in a difference in the K_ad value among the D-π-A dye sensitizers NI-4, YNI-1 and YNI-2.

Dye-sensitized solar cell based on an inclusion complex of a cyclic porphyrin dimer bearing four 4-pyridyl groups and fullerene C60

Cyclic free-base porphyrin dimers linked by butadiyne or phenothiazine bearing four 4-pyridyl groups and their inclusion complexes with fullerene C₆₀ have been applied to dye-sensitized solar cells as a new class of porphyrin dye sensitizers.

Effect of Substituents in Catechol Dye Sensitizers on Photovoltaic Performance of Type II Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

In order to provide a direction in molecular design of catechol (Cat) dyes for type II dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), the dye-to-TiO2 charge-transfer (DTCT) characteristics of Cat dyes with various substituents and their photovoltaic performance in DSSCs are investigated. The Cat dyes with electron-donating or moderately electron-withdrawing substituents exhibit a broad absorption band corresponding to DTCT upon binding to TiO2 films, whereas those with strongly electron-withdrawing substituents exhibit weak DTCT. This study indicates that the introduction of a moderately electron-withdrawing substituent on the Cat moiety leads to not only an increase in the DTCT efficiency, but also the retardation of back electron transfer. This results in favorable conditions for the type II electron-injection pathway from the ground state of the Cat dye to the conduction band of the TiO2 electrode by the photoexcitation of DTCT bands.

Development of a functionally separated D–π-A fluorescent dye with a pyrazyl group as an electron-accepting group for dye-sensitized solar cells

A functionally separated D–π-A dye OUK-3 with a pyrazyl group as an electron-accepting group and a carboxyl group as an anchoring group has been newly developed as a photosensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cells.

Photoinduced electron injection from an organic dye having a pyridyl anchor to Lewis acid site of TiO2 surface

Adsorbability of dye onto TiO₂ is not a principal factor for a high electron injection probability from dye to TiO₂.

3,6-Di(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine capped Pd(0) nanoparticles: a catalyst for copper-free Sonogashira coupling of aryl halides in aqueous medium

3,6-Di(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine (pytz) capped Pd(0) nanoparticles (TzPdNPs) act as a catalyst in Sonogashira coupling under copper- and ligand-free conditions in aqueous medium.

Variation in optoelectronic properties of azo dye-sensitized TiO2 semiconductor interfaces with different adsorption anchors: carboxylate, sulfonate, hydroxyl and pyridyl groups

The optoelectronic properties of four azo dye-sensitized TiO2 interfaces are systematically studied as a function of a changing dye anchoring group: carboxylate, sulfonate, hydroxyl, and pyridyl. The variation in optoelectronic properties of the free dyes and those in dye/TiO2 nanocomposites are studied both experimentally and computationally, in the context of prospective dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications. Experimental UV/vis absorption spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and DSSC device performance testing reveal a strong dependence on the nature of the anchor of the optoelectronic properties of these dyes, both in solution and as dye/TiO2 nanocomposites. First-principles calculations on both an isolated dye/TiO2 cluster model (using localized basis sets) and each dye modeled onto the surface of a 2D periodic TiO2 nanostructure (using plane wave basis sets) are presented. Detailed examination of these experimental and computational results, in terms of light harvesting, electron conversion and photovoltaic device performance characteristics, indicates that carboxylate is the best anchoring group, and hydroxyl is the worst, whereas sulfonate and pyridyl groups exhibit competing potential. Different sensitization solvents are found to affect critically the extent of dye adsorption achieved in the dye-sensitization of the TiO2 semiconductor, especially where the anchor is a pyridyl group.

Photophysical and electrochemical properties, and molecular structures of organic dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on organic dyes adsorbed on oxide semiconductor electrodes, such as TiO(2), ZnO, or NiO, which have emerged as a new generation of sustainable photovoltaic devices, have attracted much attention from chemists, physicists, and engineers because of enormous scientific interest in not only their construction and operational principles, but also in their high incident-solar-light-to-electricity conversion efficiency and low cost of production. To develop high-performance DSSCs, it is important to create efficient organic dye sensitizers, which should be optimized for the photophysical and electrochemical properties of the dyes themselves, with molecular structures that provide good light-harvesting features, good electron communication between the dye and semiconductor electrode and between the dye and electrolyte, and to control the molecular orientation and arrangement of the dyes on a semiconductor surface. The aim of this Review is not to make a list of a number of organic dye sensitizers developed so far, but to provide a new direction in the epoch-making molecular design of organic dyes for high photovoltaic performance and long-term stability of DSSCs, based on the accumulated knowledge of their photophysical and electrochemical properties, and molecular structures of the organic dye sensitizers developed so far.

Heterocyclic-Functionalized Organic Dyes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Tuning Solar Cell Performance by Structural Modification

Due to their high conversion efficiency and low cost of production, dye-sensitized solar cells based on organic dyes have attracted considerable attention. By utilizing various heterocycles as construction blocks for organic dyes, the performance of solar cells was optimized to exhibit good light-harvesting features and suppress interfacial recombinations. The aim of this review is to highlight recent progress in the molecular design of heterocyclic-functionalized organic dyes for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells, and special attention has been paid to the relationship between chemical structure and the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on these dyes.