A Broadly Absorbing Perylene Dye for Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

We present a new perylene sensitizer, ID 176, for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The dye has the capability for very high photocurrents due to strong absorption from 400 to over 700 rim. Photocurrents Of LIP to 9 mA cm(-2) were achieved in solid-state DSCs employing the hole conductor 2,2'7,7'-tetrakis-(NN-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9'-spirobifluorene (spiro-MeOTAD), with a conversion efficiency of 3.2%. In contrast, the sensitizer did not perform well in conjunction with liquid iodide/tri-iodide electrolytes, suggesting a difference in the injection and regeneration mechanisms in these two types of dye-sensitized solar cells.