On how electron density affects the redox stability of phenothiazine sensitizers on semiconducting surfaces

On how ancillary ligand substitution affects the charge carrier dynamics in dye-sensitized solar cells

With respect to N3, a champion sensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), S3 which contained a phenTz (1,10-phenanthroline 5-tetrazole) ancillary ligand showed outstanding improvements in molar extinction coefficient (ε) from 10 681.8 to 12 954.5 M cm⁻¹ as well as 0.92% and 0.9% increases in power conversion efficiency (PCE) and incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE), reaching 8.46% and 76.5%, respectively. To find the origin of the high performance of the DSSC based on a phenTz ancillary ligand, transient absorption spectroscopy (TA) was carried out and indicated that the rate of the regeneration reaction is about 100 times faster than the rate of recombination with the dye which is very exciting and surely a good reason to promote the phenTz ligand as a promising ancillary ligand in DSSCs.

With respect to N3, S3 which contained a phenTz (1,10-phenanthroline 5-tetrazole) ancillary ligand showed outstanding improvements in molar extinction coefficient (ε) as well as increases in power conversion efficiency (PCE) and incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE).

Comparative analysis of triarylamine and phenothiazine sensitizer donor units in dye-sensitized solar cells

A homologous set of dyes that differ only in the donor fragments, namely phenothiazine (PTZ) and triarylamine (TPA) units, were evaluated in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The novel PTZ-based dye differs from the TPA-based dye in that it contains a sulfur bridge that planarizes two aromatic rings and enables higher dye loading and higher stability in the oxidized form. These positive features notwithstanding, the superior absorptivity of devices sensitized by TPA-based dyes resulted in significantly higher power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) than those sensitized by PTZ-based dyes.