Multi-alkylthienyl appended porphyrins for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

Four porphyrin dyes, incorporating multi-alkylthienyl appended porphyrins as the electron donor, the 2-cyanoacrylic acid as the electron acceptor, and different pi-conjugated spacer, have been synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). All the porphyrin dyes studied in this work exhibit red-shifted and broadened electronic spectra respect to the reference P-Zn as expected. By the introduction of thienyl groups at the meso-positions, the energy level of E-ox (excited-state oxidation potentials) is significantly shifted to the positive compared with the reference P-Zn, indicating a decreased HOMO-LUMO gap. The highest power conversion efficiency of the four dyes based on DSSCs reached 5.71% under AM 1.5 G irradiation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.