Increasing the efficiency of zinc-phthalocyanine based solar cells through modification of the anchoring ligand

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Several zinc-based phthalocyanines have been synthesized and used in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC). The results have been compared with the standard TT1 phthalocyanine, which shows good light-to-energy conversion efficiencies in comparison with other IR sensitizers used in DSSC. We show herein that the anchoring moiety is critical for both achieving high injection yields and slow back electron transfer dynamics that affect the overall device efficiency. Moreover, based on these results, we have synthesized a new phthalocyanine with a superior performance, when compared to the TT1 dye, with a subtle change on the anchoring moiety, thus leading to a higher photocurrent response.