Feasibility of using two benzo-substituted pyrilium-based compounds in dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

In this work, two benzo-substituted pyrilium-based crown ether-contained compounds (1 and 2) were employed as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The molecular orbitals, the ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis), the infrared (IR), and the 1H- and 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra have calculated by the density functional theory (DFT) method. The 1- and 2-sensitized TiO2 nanoparticles photoanodes have prepared and characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and elemental mapping analysis. The DSCs were constructed of TiO2 nanoparticles photoanode, Iˉ/I3ˉ electrolyte, and Pt nanoparticles counter electrode, which were exhibited the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.63% and 2.93% using 1 and 2 sensitizers, respectively.