Improvement of dye-sensitized solar cells' performance via co-sensitization of new azo thiazole organic dyes with ruthenium (II) based N-719 dye

Three novel azo thiazole organic dyes, NA-1-3, have been synthesized and utilized as co -sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). These co-sensitizers were designed with a thiazole ring p-bridge that mediates between the diazo (-N = N-) functional group and carboxylic acid anchoring unit. They possess a rod-like molecular structure and exhibit strong UV-vis absorption near 600 nm. Co-sensitization studies were also conducted with the ruthenium complex N719. The co-sensitized DSSCs showed enhanced short-circuit and open-circuit photocurrents (Jsc) and volt-ages (Voc), resulting in more efficient photovoltaic performance compared to N719 (PCE 7.25%). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE) were employed to investigate the underlying reasons for these improvements. It was found that co-sensitization effectively reduced electron recombination, resulting in a higher Voc without com-promising photocurrent loss.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Three novel azo thiazole organic dyes, NA-1-3, were synthesized and used as co-sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The co-sensitized DSSCs showed improved photovoltaic performance compared to N719, with enhanced short-circuit and open-circuit photocurrents (Jsc) and voltages (Voc). The improvements were attributed to the effective reduction of electron recombination through co-sensitization.