Screening metal-dicorrole-based dyes with excellent photoelectronic properties for dye-sensitized solar cells by density functional calculations

Abstract

The dye molecules behaving as photosensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells are the most critical factors to determine the power conversion efficiency. Therefore, ways to design dye molecules with excellent photoelectric properties has been the focus of dye-sensitized solar cells research. Here, we selected four representative different metal-corrole monomers to characterize their structures and photoelectronic properties. Then based on these metal-corrole monomers, six different architectures of metal-dicorroles were designed by varying the linking forms. The most stable architecture [Formula: see text] was screened out by binding energy calculations. A further two types of metal-dicorrole-based dyes were constructed by incorporating different bridge groups with the cyanoacry acceptor into the stable metal-dicorroles. A large number of density functional theory calculations and photoelectric properties analysis indicate that among these different metal-dicorrole-based dyes, Ga-dicorrole dyes have two strong and wide absorption bands in the visible region corresponding to Soret and Q bands, respectively, and have high charge separation efficiency under optical excitation. Especially for Ga-SN dye, by incorporating a [Formula: see text]-bridge-conjugated group, its Soret absorption band is greatly enhanced, broadened and red-shifted, resulting in its merging with the Q band into one absorption band. Moreover, its charge transfer efficiency is up to 76.86%, which will facilitate its coupling with semiconductor materials and transfer its electrons to the semiconductor materials.