Porphyrins and phthalocyanines in solar photovoltaic cells

This review summarizes recent advances in the use of porphyrins, phthalocyanines, and related compounds as components of solar cells, including organic molecular solar cells, polymer cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells. The recent report of a porphyrin dye that achieves 11% power conversion efficiency in a dye-sensitized solar cell indicates that these classes of compounds can be as efficient as the more commonly used ruthenium bipyridyl derivatives.