Premium
Donor‐π‐Acceptors Containing the 10‐(1,3‐Dithiol‐2‐ylidene)anthracene Unit for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells
Author(s) -
Bouit PierreAntoine,
Marszalek Magdalena,
HumphryBaker Robin,
Viruela Rafael,
Ortí Enrique,
Zakeeruddin Shaik M.,
Grätzel Michael,
Delgado Juan Luis,
Martín Nazario
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201201022
Subject(s) - anthracene , dithiol , chemistry , unit (ring theory) , photochemistry , nuclear chemistry , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , mathematics , mathematics education
Two donor–acceptor molecular tweezers incorporating the 10‐(1,3‐dithiol‐2‐ylidene)anthracene unit as donor group and two cyanoacrylic units as accepting/anchoring groups are reported as metal‐free sensitizers for dye‐sensitized solar cells. By changing the phenyl spacer with 3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) units, the absorption spectrum of the sensitizer is red‐shifted with a corresponding increase in the molar absorptivity. Density functional calculations confirmed the intramolecular charge‐transfer nature of the lowest‐energy absorption bands. The new dyes are highly distorted from planarity and are bound to the TiO 2 surface through the two anchoring groups in a unidentate binding form. A power‐conversion efficiency of 3.7 % was obtained with a volatile CH 3 CN‐based electrolyte, under air mass 1.5 global sunlight. Photovoltage decay transients and ATR‐FTIR measurements allowed us to understand the photovoltaic performance, as well as the surface binding, of these new sensitizers.