Ferrocenyl substituted triphenylamine based donor–acceptor molecular systems; synthesis, photophysical, electrochemical, and theoretical studies

Perspectives on push-pull chromophores derived from click-type [2 + 2] cycloaddition-retroelectrocyclization reactions of electron-rich alkynes and electron-deficient alkenes

Various push-pull chromophores can be synthesized in a single and atom-economical step through [2 + 2] cycloaddition-retroelectrocyclization (CA-RE) reactions involving diverse electron-rich alkynes and electron-deficient alkenes. In this review, a comprehensive investigation of the recent and noteworthy advancements in the research on push-pull chromophores prepared via the [2 + 2] CA-RE reaction is conducted. In particular, an overview of the physicochemical properties of the family of these compounds that have been investigated is provided to clarify their potential for future applications.

Tetracyanobutadiene Bridged Push-Pull Chromophores: Development of New Generation Optoelectronic Materials

This review describes the design strategies used for the synthesis of various tetracyanobutadiene bridged donor-acceptor molecular architectures by a click type [2+2] cycloaddition-retroelectrocyclization (CA-RE) reaction sequence. The photophysical and electrochemical properties of the tetracyanobutadiene bridged molecular architectures based on various moieties including diketopyrrolopyrrole, isoindigo, benzothiadiazole, pyrene, pyrazabole, truxene, boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY), phenothiazine, triphenylamine, thiazole and bisthiazole are summarized. Further, we discuss some important applications of the tetracyanobutadiene bridged derivatives in dye sensitized solar cells, bulk heterojunction solar cells and photothermal cancer therapy.

Exploring Structure-Property Relationships in a Family of Ferrocene-Containing, Triphenylamine-Based Hybrid Organic Dyes

In this work, a new family of triphenylamine-based dyes equipped with ferrocene (Fc)-containing donors have been synthesized, characterized, and studied within dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). With the objective of designing a redox-robust iron-containing dye that effectively sensitizes titania, a family of five structurally related dyes containing ferrocene were prepared. The physicochemical properties of all dyestuffs were studied using UV-Vis and electrochemical measurements. Different cross-coupling strategies resulted in the ability to modestly tune the Fc/Fc+ redox potentials of the dye. Despite the Fc-containing dyes having optoelectronic properties consistent with the non-ferrocene parent dye, the performance of the dyes in devices was dismal and decreased with the number of appended ferrocenes. While this finding was consistent with previous attempts to explore Fc-TPA DSSC dyes, our spectroelectrochemical data supports the hypothesis that the ferrocene component of the dye is oxidized by the electrolyte, ultimately decreasing the dye’s ability to be a suitable sensitizer. While these dyes are not suitable for DSSC applications, they might find applications in other photo-induced integrated devices where charge recombination is minimal.

New ferrocenyl-containing organic hole-transporting materials for perovskite solar cells in regular (n-i-p) and inverted (p-i-n) architectures

Three triphenylamine derivatives containing ferrocenyl groups (JW6, JW7 and JW8) were synthesized by facile syntheses. Their HOMO levels match the valence band energy of CH₃NH₃PbI₃. The introduction of ferrocenyl was aimed to obtain hole transporting materials with high mobility for perovskite solar cells. JW7 shows higher hole mobility (4.2 × 10⁻⁴ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹) than JW6 (1.3 × 10⁻⁴ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹) and JW8 (1.5 × 10⁻⁴ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹). Their film-forming properties are affected by their molecule structures. The methoxyl and N,N-dimethyl terminal substituents of JW7 and JW8 are beneficial for having better solubility than JW6. The regular mesoporous TiO₂-based perovskite solar cells (n-i-p) and the inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells (p-i-n) fabricated using JW7 show the highest power conversion efficiency of 9.36% and 11.43% under 100 mW cm⁻² AM1.5G solar illumination. For p-i-n cells, the standard HTM PEDOT-based cell reaches an efficiency of 12.86% under the same conditions.

New ferrocene-containing organic HTMs for fabricating perovskite solar cells.

Heteroatom-connected ferrocenyl substituted naphthalimides

A family of heteroatom (oxygen, sulphur and nitrogen) connected ferrocenyl naphthalimides 3a–3f were designed and synthesized by the nucleophilic aromatic substitution and Buchwald coupling reactions.

Photoinduced energy and charge transfer in a bis(triphenylamine)–BODIPY–C60 artificial photosynthetic system

The bis(triphenylamine)–BODIPY–C₆₀ artificial photosynthetic system has been prepared and studied for its photoinduced transfer processes in polar and nonpolar solvents using various steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques.

Star shaped ferrocenyl substituted triphenylamines

This manuscript reports design and synthesis of star shaped ferrocenyl substituted triphenylamine conjugates (Fc-TPA) 3a–3c by the Pd-catalyzed Sonogshira cross-coupling reaction.

Synthesis, optical and electrochemical properties of new ferrocenyl substituted triphenylamine based donor–acceptor dyes for dye sensitized solar cells

Two new ferrocenyl substituted triphenylamine based donor–acceptor dyes D1 and D2 were synthesized and used as sensitizers for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).