Electron-rich heteroaromatic conjugated bipyridine based ruthenium sensitizer for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

A novel heteroleptic ruthenium complex carrying a heteroaromatic-4, 4′-π-conjugated 2,2′-bipyridine [Ru(ii)LL′(NCS) 2] (L = 4,4′-bis[(E)-2-(3,4-ethylenedioxythien-2-yl)vinyl]-2, 2′-bipyridine, L′ = 4,4′-(dicarboxylic acid)-2,2′- bipyridine) was synthesized and used in dye-sensitized solar cells, yielding photovoltaic efficiencies of 9.1% under standard global AM 1.5 sunlight. © The Royal Society of Chemistry.