Large π-Aromatic Molecules as Potential Sensitizers for Highly Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

Recently, dye-sensitized solar cells have attracted much attention relevant to global environmental issues. Thus far, ruthenium(II) bipyridyl complexes have proven to be the most efficient TiO(2) sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells. However, a gradual increment in the highest power conversion efficiency has been recognized in the past decade. More importantly, considering that ruthenium is a rare metal, novel dyes without metal or using inexpensive metal are desirable for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells. Large pi-aromatic molecules, such as porphyrins, phthalocyanines, and perylenes, are important classes of potential sensitizers for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells, owing to their photostability and high light-harvesting capabilities that can allow applications in thinner, low-cost dye-sensitized solar cells. Porphyrins possess an intense Soret band at 400 nm and moderate Q bands at 600 nm. Nevertheless, the poor light-harvesting properties relative to the ruthenium complexes have limited the cell performance of porphyrin-sensitized TiO(2) cells. Elongation of the pi conjugation and loss of symmetry in porphyrins cause broadening and a red shift of the absorption bands together with an increasing intensity of the Q bands relative to that of the Soret band. On the basis of the strategy, the cell performance of porphyrin-sensitized solar cells has been improved intensively by the enhanced light absorption. Actually, some push-pull-type porphyrins h…