Comparative analyses of new donor-π-acceptor ferrocenyl-chalcones containing fluoro and methoxy-fluoro acceptor units as synthesized dyes for organic solar cell material

• Published in: PloS one 2020-11, Vol.15 (11), p.e0241113-e0241113
• Main Authors: Anizaim, Ainizatul Husna, Zainuri, Dian Alwani, Zaini, Muhamad Fikri, Razak, Ibrahim Abdul, Bakhtiar, Hazri, Arshad, Suhana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chalcones - chemistry; Charge transfer; Circuits; Climate change; Coloring Agents - chemical synthesis; Comparative analysis; Crystallography; Density functional theory; Dipole moments; Dye-sensitized solar cells; Dyes; Efficiency; Electric Power Supplies; Engineering and Technology; Ferrous Compounds - chemistry; Models, Molecular; Molecular Structure; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Organometallic compounds; Organometallic Compounds - chemistry; Photovoltaic cells; Physical Sciences; Physics; Research and Analysis Methods; Short circuit currents; Short-circuit current; Solar cells; Solar Energy; Synthesis; Time dependence; X ray analysis
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241113

Two organometallic compounds known as (E)-1-ferrocenyl-(3-fluorophenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (Fc1) and (E)-1-ferrocenyl-(3-fluoro-4-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (Fc2) are designed and synthesized for application in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) based on a donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) architecture. By strategically introducing a methoxy group into the acceptor side of the compound, Fc2 which has adopted a D-π-A-AD structure are compared with the basic D-π-A structure of Fc1. Both compounds were characterized by utilizing the IR, NMR and UV-Vis methods. Target compounds were further investigated by X-ray analysis and studied computationally using Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent DFT (TD-DFT) approaches to explore their potential performances in DSSCs. An additional methoxy group has been proven in enhancing intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) by improving the planarity of Fc2 backbone. This good electronic communication leads to higher HOMO energy level, larger dipole moment and better short-circuit current density (Jsc) values. Eventually, the presence of methoxy group in Fc2 has improved the conversion efficiency as in comparison to Fc1 under the same conditions.