Thermal Behavior and Photovoltaic Application of NiII and CoIII Complexes with Substituted o‐Iminobenzoquinone Ligands

Abstract

AbstractThe thermal properties and an opportunity for photovoltaic applications were studied for a series of transition metal complexes derived on functionalized o‐aminophenols ‐ mixed‐valent CoIII compounds and bis‐o‐iminobenzosemiquinonato NiII complexes. TGA and DSC explored the thermal behavior of compounds in the solid state. EI‐MS established the vapor phase composition. The temperature dependences of a saturated vapor pressure were measured by the Knudsen effusion method with the weight registration of the sublimated substance. Based on the volatility study data, the thermodynamic parameters of a sublimation process were calculated. A high absorptivity distinguishes metal complexes under investigation at visible and NIR regions (i. e., vis/NIR dyes) and, thus, were tested as photosensitizers in the fabricated dye‐sensitized solar cells. The photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) was estimated for devices with the NiII derivatives. The CoIII complexes demonstrated the absence of photovoltaic potential.