Towards sustainable dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) are an emerging technology for the conversion of solar photons to electrical energy. Typical DSCs are based upon ruthenium complexes which act as photosensitizers for a wide band-gap semiconductor such as titanium dioxide. The low abundance of ruthenium raises issues about the sustainability of such devices. We now present promising prototype DSCs based upon copper(I) complexes. © Schweizerische Chemische Gesellschaft.