Ferrocenyl-2-pyridylimine derived d10-configuration complexes as prospective co-sensitizers in dye sensitized solar cells

Three complexes comprising ferrocenyl-2-pyridylimine and three d(10) transition metal centers viz. Zn (II), Cd (II), and Hg (II) having formula [M (FcCH=NCH2(2-py)] (M = Zn (II) (Zn-Fc), Cd (II) (Cd-Fc), and Hg (II) (Hg-Fc); Fc = Ferrocene) are synthesized and their characterization have been done using microanalytical technique, FT-IR and NMR spectroscopic methods. The optimized molecular geometries for all the three ferrocene-based complexes revealed that the coordination geometries around the d(10)-metal centers are distorted tetrahedral. The application of these complexes as sensitizers and co-sensitizers/co-adsorbents have been assessed in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Amid the three co-sensitizers/co-adsorbent based the DSSC set-ups, the assembly fabricated using Zn-Fc/N719 displayed superior performance with 5.71 +/- 0.04% efficiency (eta) indicating enhancement in the DSSC performance than to the set-up constructed using solely N719 (eta = 4.20 +/- 0.05%).

Automated summary

Three complexes containing ferrocenyl-2-pyridylimine with Zn(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II) transition metal centers were synthesized and characterized. These complexes showed distorted tetrahedral coordination geometries and were evaluated for their application in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), with the Zn-Fc/N719 assembly demonstrating superior performance compared to setup using solely N719.