Co-sensitization of ruthenium(II) dye-sensitized solar cells by coumarin based dyes

• Published in: Chemical physics letters 2018-05, Vol.699, p.32-39
• Main Authors: Athanas, Anish Babu, Thangaraj, Shankar, Kalaiyar, Swarnalatha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Co-sensitizer; Coumarin; Diamino bipyridine (dabpy); Dye-sensitized solar cells; Ruthenium complex
• ISSN: 0009-2614; 1873-4448
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2018.03.033

[Display omitted] •DSSCs are fabricated with a heteroleptic Ru(II) sensitizer (RDAB1) containing 4,4′-diamino-2,2′-bipyridine (dabpy) ligand.•The photovoltaic performances of DSSCs are enhanced by donor–acceptor type coumarin based co-sensitizers.•After co-sensitization process, enhanced efficiencies of 6.34% and 7.09% observed.•This is the first report where NH2 group is served as an anchoring groups in DSSCs. Co-sensitization technique has been appraised for attaining enhanced performance in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). DSSCs are fabricated with a heteroleptic Ru(II) sensitizer (RDAB1) containing 4,4′-diamino-2,2′-bipyridine (dabpy) ligand, co-sensitized with electron donor–acceptor type coumarin containing thiophene (CT) and indole (CI) moieties. The individual overall power conversion efficiency of the sensitizer is 5.44%. Enhanced power conversion efficiencies of 6.34% and 7.09% were observed when RDAB1 was co-sensitized with Coumarin containing CI and CT respectively. The enhanced PCE can be attributed to the presence of co-sensitizers which effectively overcome the light absorption by I−/I3−, dye aggregation and charge recombination.