Synthesis, crystal structure and properties of one-dimensional Ni(II) coordination polymer

Abstract

A new metal-organic coordination polymer {[Ni(L)(en)2]·2DMF}n (L: azobenzene-4,4′-dicarboxylate; en: ethylenediamine; DMF: N, N-dimethylformamide) (compound 1) has been synthesised under solvothermal condition. Compound 1 is characterised by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared (IR) spectra, elemental analysis, powder XRDs and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results show that compound 1 display blue fluorescence emission in the solid state at room temperature, which is attributed to π-π* intraligand electronic transition. This electronic transition indicates that compound 1 can be a sensitiser for dye-sensitised solar cells. Dye-sensitised solar cells with compound 1/N719 exhibit a short-circuit photocurrent density as high as 11.80 mA cm− 2, open-circuit photovoltage of 0.82 V, the fill factor of 0.65, and overall conversion efficiency of 6.28% under standard global AM1.5 solar irradiation conditions.