Push-Pull Zinc Phthalocyanine Bearing Hexa-Tertiary Substituted Carbazolyl Donor Groups for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

Basma Ghazal,Saad Makhseed,Ahmed S A Youssef,Kobra Azizi,Ewies F Ewies,Renaud Demadrille,Valid Mwatati Mwalukuku,Tomás Torres

doi:10.3390/molecules25071692

Abstract

An asymmetrical, push–pull phthalocyanine bearing bulky tert-butylcarbazolyl moieties as electron donor and carboxylic acid as anchoring group was synthetized and tested as a photosensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The new photosensitizer was characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, UV–Vis and mass spectrometry. The bulky tert-butylcarbazolyl moieties avoid the aggregation of the phthalocyanine dye. DFT studies indicate that the HOMO is delocalized throughout the π-electron system of the substituted phthalocyanine and the LUMO is located on the core of the molecule with a sizable electron density distribution on carboxyl groups. The new dye has been used as a photosensitizer in transparent and opaque dye-sensitized solar cells, which exhibit poor efficiencies related to a low Jsc.

Highlights

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are an effective alternative for delivering clean energy from the sun compared to traditional power cells [1,2,3,4]
We reported an octa-substituted carbazolyl phthalocyanines with a broad absorption band observed in the Molecules 2020, -, x FOR PEER REVIEW
The dehydrogenation of hydroxymethyl phthalocyanine was performed in zinc oxide and potassium hydroxide solution in mesitylene to giveperformed tCzZnPc1 in in zinc oxide potassium hydroxide mesitylene to

Summary

Introduction

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are an effective alternative for delivering clean energy from the sun compared to traditional power cells [1,2,3,4]. Numerous efforts are currently being directed toward the development of optimized light harvesters capable of utilizing the entire range of the solar spectrum, including the infrared portion lost in present silicon-based PV technology. These efforts have the potential to improve the efficiency in solar energy conversion of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) via the so-called panchromatic sensitization. In a DSSC, the photosensitizer is a crucial element because it is responsible for the photon harvesting of the solar cell, and because it drives the electron transfer at the TiO2 /dye/electrolyte interfaces [5]. The structure engineering of organic dyes offers this possibility, and organic photosensitizers usually show superior absorption compared to ruthenium

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